Belmont Students Protest Racial Slur On Social Media [Video]

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Photo: Campaigners marching around Clay Pit Pond

A racial slur on a Snapchat account by a Belmont High School student that was forwarded by a third party to fellow students resulted in a protest rally and march around Clay Pit Pond at the high school Friday afternoon, May 26, which saw nearly 90 percent of the student body and many teachers and staff take part.

Organized by a group of students led by junior Barbara Joseph, the action according to Joseph and the school administration was directed at the overall climate of racial discourse occuring locally and nationally.

“We are not looking to have the [student] to be punished. He’s affected by society on what he did,” said Joseph. “We are here to say that this is a bigger issue than just one [social media] post. It’s about changing our [view] on what is acceptable.” 

Belmont High Principal Dr. Dan Richards said he met with a group of students early Friday to discuss their concerns and help devise both a short and long term actions that would both bring awareness of issues of race that is effecting students to the greater school community. The march would be the first step in bringing forward a dialouge on the issues, said Richards.

“I support what these students are doing 100 percent because its a message that we need to discuss,” said Richards.

 

Performing Arts Company’s One Acts on Stage Friday, Saturday

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Photo: This year’s poster

The final act of the 2016-17 theatrical season by the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company takes place this holiday weekend with the annual student-directed “One Act Festival.” 

Featuring 10-minute plays directed by PAC members (typically seniors), the One Acts are a mix of comedy, drama and everything in between. 

There are three performances:

Friday, May 26 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 27 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

One Acts are extremely popular and traditionally sell out so get your tickets soon.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets can be obtained at Champions in Belmont Center and online here: Buy Tickets Online.

CONTENT WARNING: Some of the One Act Plays contain mature themes or adult language, which may not be suitable for children.

26 Years In The Making: Belmont Baseball Captures League Title With Victory Over Reading

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Photo: Belmont High’s Max Meier strikes out the final batter of the game for Belmont’s 6-4 victory over Reading.

The wait is over.

Twenty-six years since winning its last league title, Belmont High Baseball will hoist the 2017 Middlesex League Liberty Division championship banner on the wall of the Wenner Field House after the Marauders captured its first league pennant since 1991 with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over defending champions Reading Memorial High with a combination of clutch late-inning hitting and a gutsy pitching performance by the team’s lefthanded ace.

“How about that league championship?!” asked long-time Head Coach Jim Brown to his ecstatic players as the speakers blasted a new version of King Harvest’s 70’s classic “Dancing in the Moonlight.”

“You had a goal right from the beginning of the season. And you accomplished it. You made this town proud,” Brown told the players.

The team – 16-3 overall and 13-3 in the league – will end the regular season taking on one-loss Division 3 leading Lynnfield (17-1) on Friday, May 26 at 3:45 p.m. at “The Grant.” The Marauders will then finish the season hosting The Brendan Grant Tournament later in the week.

The Marauders’ secured the victory with a clutch two-out, two run rally that gave junior starter Nate Espelin the margin he needed to hold on for his sixth win with a herculean 119 pitch performance over 6 1/3 innings.

“I walked too many people, but I didn’t have to worry about striking out people because we made the defensive plays,” said the southpaw, who raised his record to 6-1.

While Espelin could not match his high teen strikeout numbers that he produced against Wilmington, Lexington and Reading the first time he faced them – a 1-0 9-inning loss – he relied on his curveball “which worked a little better today.”

On Wednesday, the Marauders’ bats were working as the top four of the order – junior leftfielder Connor Dacey, junior shortstop Steve Rizzuto, catcher Cal Christofori and junior first base Dennis Crowley – went a collective 8 for 13 with two doubles (both by Christofori) and 5 RBIs.

“I think I’ve seen the ball well lately. It’s just looking bigger and getting a good piece of it and driving it the other way [to right field],” said Crowley.

Belmont got off the mark quickly against Reading’s All-Star starter Corey DiLoreto in the first with a walk, a fielder’s choice and two singles with Crowley punching a single through the infield to bring home Rizzuto. It appeared the Marauders would increase the lead as a sacrifice fly by junior Ryan Noone sent Christofori home, but the plate umpire called the senior captain out for leaving third early.

Espelin had already thrown 40 pitches in the top of the third when he walked Reading’s Joe Bradley to bring up DiLoreto who pulverized an Espelin offering over the deepest part of the center field fence (352 feet) to give Reading its only lead of the game, 2-1. The inning ended with Rizzuto going deep in the hole to throw out the batter by half-a-step.

The Marauders swiftly recaptured the lead in the bottom of the frame, starting with Rizzuto (1-3) waiting on a slow curve to belt it between first and second for a single. Christofori (3-3 with a walk) then smashed a fastball into the gap between center and left that one-hopped the fence for a ground-rule double.

“[Christofori’s] enthusiasm and passion today rubbed off on the entire team,” said Brown. 

Crowley followed by taking a full-count pitch into center for a single, bringing in Rizzuto to tie the score. Junior right fielder/pitcher Max Meier continued the hitting onslaught with his own single to send Christofori across the plate. The Marauders’ final run of the inning came when Crowley scampered home on a Bryan Goodwin sacrifice fly, upping the lead to 4-2.

The title was sealed with two down in the sixth when Reading took out DiLoreto. Belmont quickly pounced on reliever Mike Rainone loading the bases on a Conner Dacey single and walks to Rizzuto and Christofori.

Dennis completed his big day at the plate battling back from a two-stroke deficit to rocket a 2-2 pitch into center to bring in Dacey and Rizzuto to double Belmont’s lead from two to four at 6-2.

“He got me down 0-2 on a pitch I thought was a little low. But what are you going to do? I took the next two pitches to even it up then got a pitch I liked and ripped it,” said Crowley who drove in half the team’s runs and scored once.

“This team knows what to do with the stick [bat] and are selective with their pitches. They work at it,” said Brown.

Those final runs were critical as Reading staged its own late rally in the top of the 7th. DiLoreto walked, and after a sacrifice bunt, consecutive infield errors and a Ben Fischer single that dropped in front of Goodwin saw the Rockets cut the lead in half to 6-4 with the go-ahead run at the plate.

“I was making sure [the athletic trainer] had the heart defibrillator ready because I didn’t know if I could take it,” said Brown.

With nearly 120 pitches in the book, Brown elected to pull Espelin for junior righthander Meier. With Rockets at the corner, Meier relied on his fastball to strikeout the 8 and 9 batters; the final punch out caught the batter looking.

After the celebrations which included running through a “victory tunnel” set up by the Boys’ Rugby team and a bucket of water over Brown’s head, the coach again heaped praise on his team and the eight seniors.

“This is the best group of kids I’ve coached. They know how to battle for the entire game, the entire season,” said Brown.

Belmont Baseball Host Reading Wed. With Winner Taking League Pennant

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Photo: Belmont Marauders

It’s all on the line as Belmont High Baseball hosts Reading Memorial High this afternoon, Wednesday, May 24, in what is a one-game, winner takes all contest that will determine the champions of the Middlesex League Liberty Division.

Today’s dramatic finale to the 2017 league season saw Belmont receive a huge break on Tuesday, May 23, from a squad scrambling for its playoff life. Needing to win its remaining games to earn a playoff berth, the below .500 Winchester High Sachems nipped Reading, 4-3, to drop the Rockets’ record to 15-3 and 12-3 in league play.

Belmont was standing at 12-3 in the league as they defeated non-league Arlington Catholic, 5-0, on Tuesday, behind senior reliever Zach Colleran’s first career start. The righty spun a masterful performance on the mound, mixing his fastball with a changeup to go six shutout innings, giving up a pair of hits and earning three Ks. 

“I knew I wasn’t going to blow anyone away so I threw pitches that they couldn’t make solid contact,” said Colleran, who earned the win. Junior starter Max Meier got an inning of work in pitching a 1, 2, 3 7th.  

Colleran was helped by outstanding plays in the field including from shortstop Steve Rizzuto who dove to snag a grounder heading up the middle, throwing out the runner by half-a-step at first to end the sixth. 

Belmont cobbled together 3 runs in the second with Colleran helping himself with a RBI single followed by a sacrifice from first base Dennis Crowley and a RBI knock by senior catcher and captain Cal Christofori. 

Crowley scored in the 4th after ripping a double into right, stole third and scored on a fielder’s choice from Colleran. 

Junior pinch hitter Andrew Mazzone took a first pitch fastball 322 feet over the right field fence to add the final run of the game in the fifth. 

Wednesday’s game (start time 3:45 p.m.) at “The Grant” in Belmont will see not just attempt to grab its first league pennant in more than a decade against the defending champion but also giving the Marauders the opportunity to avenge a 1-0 extra inning loss earlier this month to the Rockets.

Belmont will throw its ace, junior Nate Espelin (5-1), to start. Espelin is coming off a 15 strikeout effort against Lexington and will face the team that defeated him this season. 

This Year’s Belmont Town Day ‘Just Right’ [Photos]

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Photos: Rosie, Town Day’s Top Dog.

It was a Goldilocks Town Day: Not too hot, or too wet. Saturday, May 20 was “just right” in Belmont Center as the annual event sponsored by the Belmont Savings Bank and the Center’s Merchants Association went off without a hitch.

Vintage autos – the car show winner was Jeff Madar with his 1972 Datsun 240Z – food, the money “cube,” merchants, organizations and plenty of rides – be it mechanical or animal (yes, there were two camels in the Homer Building’s parking lot) – to satisfy kids and adults alike. The bright sun sent some home with the season’s first sunburn if they were not careful.

One of the day’s highlights was the annual dog show as mutts and purebreds strutted on the catwalk. The Nolan’s family’s Gus, a French bulldog, was the favorite of the Belmont Savings’ Facebook voters while Rosie, a mutt – owner Mike Jones thinks she could be a Border Collie/Foxhound mix – who was adopted from a shelter that brought her up from Alabama won the Town Day crown. Seven-year-old Molly Jones, who was hanging onto Rosie’s lead with all her might, said she and Rosie likes to dance with each other. “But she’s not in the mood right now,” said Molly. 

Sign, Sealed, Delivered: Incinerator Property Officially Belmont’s

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Photo: Belmont incinerator site on upper Concord Avenue.

Not all milestone events need to accompanied by fireworks or proclamations. Some go by nearly unnoticed.

And one such “quiet” moment occurred this week when the state formally handed over the site of the former town incinerator to Belmont, nearly a year after the process began.

Phyllis Marshall, the interim town administrator, told the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, May 22 the state’s Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance – responsible for disposing of state-owned property – recorded the transfer of the deed to the town at the South Middlesex Registry of Deeds on May 17.

The 16-acre property is adjacent to upper Concord Avenue and the Rock Meadow Conservation about 1,500 feet from the Lexington town line. Built in 1959, the incinerator operated until 1975, then becoming the town’s transfer station for decades before the state took control of the land. 

The Belmont DPW currently utilizes the site for equipment storage, leaf composting and the placement of debris.

In January 2014, former Gov. Deval Patrick signed legislation sponsored by State Rep. Dave Rogers  authorizing the sale of the state-owned land to the town at a “fair market value.” An important provision of the transfer is future uses of the land is limited to recreational or municipal purposes; it can not be sold or leased for commercial or business operations.

But before the land can be developed, the town must first construct a mitigation plan to remediate the site of contaminated soil and ground water which could include removing or “capping” the soil polluted by ash produced in the burning of garbage.

Marshall told the Belmontonian on Monday 2016, the town has $3.5 million as of fiscal 2016 in a reserve account to clean up the property.

After a blueprint is approved by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and the remediation work completed, the town can move forward on the land’s future.

In November 2014, the Selectmen met with Town Meeting members and the public on possible uses for the former incinerator which included a solar “farm,” sports fields, open space and a future home for Police headquarters or DPW.

Charge It: Belmont Dedicates New E-Car Charging Stations in Center

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Photo: At the dedication of the new public charging stations in Belmont Center (from left); Interim Town Administrator Phyllis Marshall, Selectmen Jim Williams, Adam Dash and Mark Paolillo, Energy Committee’s Marty Bitner, and the Light Department’s Rebecca Keane and Jim Palmer. 

Belmont Center has become a destination location for owners of  “EVs” as town leaders joined officials from the municipal utility in dedicating the community’s first public charging stations for electric cars on Town Day, Saturday, May 20.

The chargers are located in the right rear section of the Claflin Street Municipal Parking Lot in Belmont Center.

“If you build it, they will come, and so we expect to see people who have electric vehicles in our area to come [here] and visit our business center,” said Selectmen Chair Jim Williams, who was joined by fellow selectmen Adam Dash and Mark Paolillo and interim Town Administrator Phyllis Marshall to help Jim Palmer, general manager of Belmont Light, the town-owned electrical company, plug in the first vehicle – a new Belmont Light electric car – into the station.

“We expect it to be a competitive advantage to benefit the [new] development in the Center,” Williams said. “It’s a win/win situation.” 

Light Department worked with the town’s Energy Committee and town departments including the Department of Public Works. The funds used to purchase the stations and three Chevy Bolt EVs – in use by the Health and Facilities departments in addition to Belmont Light – came from a grant written by Facilities Manager Gerald Boyle and Rebecca Keane from Belmont Light.

“The greatest source of residential carbon emissions [in Belmont] comes from transportation,” said the Energy Committee’s Marty Bitner who is also a member of Belmont Drives Electric, an ad hoc group which promotes the purchase of electric cars with events such as ride alongs with e-car owners and promotions.

“The impetus behind this program is to encourage people to drive electric vehicles and reduce their carbon footprint,” Bitner said, as the town’s commitment to infrastructure such as the chargers provides “tacit support” for residents who are thinking to move to an electric car. 

And it appears an increasing number of Belmont residents are receptive to the message. Bitner revealed that in the past eight months since the Belmont Drives group started its program, Belmont has seen the highest per capita increase in electric cars either bought or leased in the state, jumping from 50 to 88 vehicles. 

“It’s been incredible to watch the Belmont community to come together to support EVs,” said Palmer, noting that 2016 was a landmark year for electric vehicles and with the new stations “Belmont residents are ahead of the curve.” 

Red, Bright and Cool: Belmont High’s PreProm Promenade 2017 [270 Photos]

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Photo: Red twirl.

Stunning prints, flowing gowns and lots of red. Traditional ties vs. the bow variety, muted-color suits and high-polished dress shoes. 

But also tights over a suit coat, jackets of all patterns and texture, and casual footwear. 

The annual Promenade that preceded the Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom on Friday, May 19, was once again a spectacle of fancy dress wear that ranged from the classic – the black tux and Empress cut party gown – to the slightly daring (high-cut dresses) and those who took an original track on what to wear that evening.

Each couple, group or individual who crossed the Belmont High School auditorium’s stage was greeted with applause from the packed house as the students headed to Principal Dan Richards who assumed his traditional station at the stairs to assist anyone needing a hand.

[Editor: Sorry if I missed anyone in the photos. If you would like a jpg of one of the shots from this past Friday, just send an email to editor@belmontonian.com]

Cushing Square Starbucks To Close Noon, Monday, June 5

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Photo: Farewell, espresso friend.

In the coming fortnight, you’ll have to find any other place to spend a few hours of free wifi and strong coffee in Cushing Square.

The notice has been taped to the front door of the Trapelo Road Starbucks: the final day of operation will be Monday, June 5 at noon. 

Not that the shutdown comes as a surprise to anyone as Toll Brothers, the developer of the 167,000 square foot apartment/retail/parking project once known as Cushing Village before a name change to The Bradford, stated in February of last year the popular hangout for students, seniors, and general layabouts would be demolished soon after construction began.

With the already limited parking reduced to a handful of spaces due to work around the site, the store’s hours were cut in the past few week to where it will be open only seven hours during its final week of operations.

While the building, built as a Friendly’s restaurant in the 1970s, will soon be coming down, like the legionary Phoenix Starbucks will return in just over a year’s time, to occupy a significant space in the residential/storefront building – dubbed the “Winslow” – under construction on the grounds of the former municipal parking lot.

Belmont Girls’ Rugby Will Play in First-Ever State Championship Game

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Photo: Belmont’s Girls’ Rugby Head Coach Kate McCabe.

It’s official: the Belmont High School Girls’ Rugby squad play for the first-ever High School state title after going undefeated through rugby’s inaugural season as a varsity sport in Massachusetts.

The 3-0-1 Marauders will take on Algonquin Regional High School (2-1-1) in the next two weeks at a neutral site, according to Jim Davis, Belmont’s athletic director who sits on the sport’s governing board for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association which oversees high school athletics.

“The girls’ set the goals at the beginning of the season,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Kate McCabe, who started the squad three years ago with a handful of girls, many who are still playing.  

“[The coaches] asked them what they wanted to do and they said we better make state championship. And they came out for each game ready to play,” said McCabe, who is a social studies teacher at the school.

Belmont and Algonquin – which won the state championship as a club side in 2014 and 2015 – drew 12-12 at Harris Field (in front of more than 100 spectators) in early May before Belmont scored four tries in the second half against the host T-Hawks to win 20-5 last week.

Belmont twice defeated the only other team to put out a varsity squad, Lincoln-Sudbury, 35-0 and 10-5.

McCabe, who started for four years at Boston University and was on the Boston Women’s Rugby Club before entering coaching, said she’s not just proud of her team for making the state final, “I’m also really proud for women’s rugby. It’s the first year under the MIAA … for both boys and girls and to see so many people come out to support us is very impressive.”

“We say at the end of practice and games, it’s not perfect, we make mistakes. We just asked them to come out and play rugby, and play for each other which they have every time they took the pitch,” said McCabe.