O’ Tannenbaum, O’ Tannenbaum; It Can Be Left on the Curb Starting Monday

January 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Goodbye until next year.

Today, Monday, Jan. 4th, is the day before Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Christmas holiday (it’s the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story says the three wise men visited the infant Jesus), which in the past was a time of revelry and merry making.

And with the end of the holiday comes another tradition: the dumping of the family Christmas tree onto the curb.

And starting today, the Belmont Department of Public Works will collect your Christmas trees at the curb for regular trash pickup on the designated trash day during the first two full weeks of January.

For those who like to recycle, the branches can be spread over your garden plot to help protect the soil and provide some shelter for voles and chipmunks.

If you have any questions about ol‘ Tannenbaum, contact the Belmont Public Works at 617-993-2680.

Heads Up, 2016: The Year to Come in Belmont

January 3, 2016 By Franklin B. Tucker 2 Comments

Photo: Belmont High School, Town Meeting and Cushing Village are topics coming up in 2016.

What will 2016 bring to Belmont? While, as the 1981-tour T-shirt by the band “The Clash” proclaimed, “The future is unwritten,” there are some events that we can anticipate happening. As Donald Rumsfeld said, there are known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns, those things “we don’t know we don’t know.” Certainly a known known is the annual Town Election, the known unknown is just how residents will vote at a special Town Meeting on the Minuteman High School and the unknown unknown is, of course, Cushing Village.

Cushing Village: 2016 will be the start of construction on the long-troubled, infinitely delayed three-building development. But, then again, everyone thought 2015 would be that year. The latest update on the three-building development with 115 housing units, 38,000 sq.-ft. of stores and 200-plus parking spaces will be early in the new year on Tuesday, Jan. 5 before the Planning Board. Two-and-a-half years (YEARS) since winning approval to build the 168,000 sq.-ft. project, all there have been being promised to commence building the development from Chris Starr, head of Smith Legacy Partners. With the latest “rock solid” deadline missed last month, it will come to no one’s surprise if Well Fargo, the project’s lead lender, steps into the abyss to kick-start what should have been a Belmont landmark (and business magnet) but has been a missed opportunity.

Early February Town Meeting for Minuteman: What? Wait a minute! Town Meeting? In about 45 days? Yup, that’s right. Belmont’s 300 Town Meeting members will be braving winter conditions to assemble to debate and vote on a single article: approving a new agreement for towns to participate in the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District. In a roundabout way (the whole story will take a separate story to explain), the reason is to approve the construction a new $144 million school building but what has evolved to change the partnership between the 16 member towns and the Lexington-based voke school including proportional votes to the number of kids each town sends (Belmont has the third largest population with about 30 students) and requiring non-member students – from places such as Watertown, Medford and Waltham that make up about 40 percent of all students – to help play for the school. As a Belmont representative explained to the Warrant Committee and Selectmen: “It’s a bad deal but it’s better than the alternative.” Oh, by the way, the vote could be meaningless if other towns or the state objects, then all residents will be asked to vote on the deal, likely on a Saturday in June. Yes, it’s nuts.

Foodies arrival: Belmont gets an anchor with the opening of Foodies Urban Market, the upscale South End supermarket in the former location of Macy’s/Filene’s. But it’s unlikely that residents will be purchasing prepared dinners and a Russo’s-type selection of fruits and vegetables until the fall of 2016 as construction on the site is taking longer than expected. One point of concern: Some Belmont Center businesses are a bit worried that a food-based business will not attract walk-about shoppers the way Macy’s did. The site will also be the home to a major national business which the Belmontonian will report on this week.

“New” High School: Wednesday, Jan. 27 is D-Day for the future of Belmont High School. The School District’s statement of interest to renovate the 45-year-old building and construct a modern science wing for $100 million will be voted on by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which will finance about a third of the total cost. If it gets the MSBA’s OK, 2016 will be a year when the town creates a building committee, design and construction details are hammered out with the state and possibly the hiring of an architectural firm. A vote on an anticipated $67 million debt exclusion is likely in 2017.

Town Election: You can expect the unexpected at Belmont Town Election: Last year was Jim Williams’ stunning swamping of incumbent Andy Rojas and the ease the $3.5 million override passed muster. This years’ edition will include three open seats for School Committee with neither of the two incumbents so far declaring their intentions. And will there be a challenge to Selectman incumbent Mark Paolillo as he attempts a third (and final) three-year term? So far, the only contested town-wide race is for a seat on the Health Board. A big question around town: will someone from Williams’ political sphere launch a challenge for the schools or be audacious enough to see if lightning strikes twice in as many years for a place on Selectmen?

School: 2016 will likely be a continuation of the students piling into the six overcrowded schools. September will see modular classrooms coming to a few schools – (whisper: it’s reported that the Chenery Middle School have already designated its tennis courts as the location for the temporary classrooms.) It will also be a year that a growing number of students who enter the system need greater help to speak and read in English as well as navigate a highly competitive system. The challenges continue.

Belmont Uplands: The land has been cleared so where are the buildings? Expect 2016 to be when the first steps take place in the construction of the 299 apartments in an area that has seen an explosion of residential complexes, the latest a proposed 219 unit Chapter 40B complex just over the line in Arlington off Route 2 just a stone’s throw from the Uplands.

OPEB: Speaking of Williams, the long-anticipated meeting on the town’s pension and OPEB (Other Postemployment Benefits Obligations such as health insurance for retirees) as well as a discussion of Pension Obligation Bonds which the selectman obtained at the 2015 Town Meeting was held and it was determined that everyone was going to take a second look at how the town handles these benefits which the town doesn’t have funds to cover currently. Expect push comes to shove in 2016 as those supporting Williams to put a proposal on funding those obligations on the table either at Town Meeting or at a special TM in the fall.

Housing: Is Belmont in a housing bubble? That will depend on macroeconomic national trends but there is ample evidence since July that homes are selling for well above assessed values. What will be interesting is if the median assessed housing value in this “Town of Homes” tops the $1 million mark; it currently stands at $928,003.

Selecting a Community Path: We can only give our thanks to the members of the Community Path Implementation Committee for the truly thankless work they conducted. (There was so much walking on and off road around town that the members could be excused if they were climbing Dante’s Purgatorio.) The committee in 2016 will provide the Board of Selectmen with its preferred path that will require landowners and the town to compromise to make it work. But no one shouldn’t be surprised that town politics will rear its head to trump the reality on the ground.

Town Meeting: Another year without a budget crisis doesn’t mean Town Meeting will be boring; expect a few citizen petitions to bring at least one 11 p.m. session as residents line up to “speak their minds.”

Residential Zoning: Will 2016 be the year the town’s residential neighborhoods see a bylaw restricting the bulk and height of new construction that is representative of the existing housing stock? It all depends on the Planning Board making this a priority in 2016. If not, expect more soul-destroying mega mansions popping up on your street.

Road/Parking projects: Who would have thought both major roadway projects in Belmont would not be finished on time? (Likely, everyone in town.) It will now be spring/early summer of 2016 for final infrastructure work and paving to be completed on the state-run Trapelo/Belmont Corridor project while the triangle adjacent to the Belmont Savings Bank will be dedicated in late spring as well. This year will also see a new parking system coming to Belmont Center including automated meters on Leonard Street.

Sports: My predictions!

Both Basketball teams go deep in the 2016 tournament especially the girls’ who have ten players who could start on any team in the league. (Watertown comes to town on Tuesday, Jan. 26.)

Baseball will take the Middlesex League Liberty Division and make a run in the sectionals behind the strongest and deepest pitching staff this side of the Chicago Cubs. That’s right, the Cubs!

Girls’ Track (in and outdoors) continues to run away from opponents with underclassmen leading the way including sophomore Anoush Krafian.

Girls’ Swimming: The team will see Jessie Blake-West, one of the program’s greatest swimmers, breaking records at Brown in 2016 and will miss a slew of great seniors from the 2015 squad, but its foundation is set on the shoulders of three-time state champion sophomore Nicoletta Kalavantis.

Football will have a winning record, make and win a game in the playoffs and place a whopping on Watertown on Thanksgiving in Belmont.

Girls’ Soccer will be scary good with a mature, stronger team – a young defense with a year under their belts – that is aiming to score goals, lots of them.

Field Hockey, which recorded a program’s best 16-3 2015 record and was Belmont High’s “2015 Team of the Year” will meet some surging squads next year – Winchester, Wilmington, and Lexington – and ponder who will take over for midfield star Serena Nally. But don’t bet against the team from reaching the sectional finals as they lost only five seniors, return a half-dozen exciting underclassmen, have a solid back four and are led by Division 1-bound AnnMarie Habelow. Although it would be nice if the team could welcome a few transfer students from the Netherlands next season.

Sold In Belmont: A Tiny House, a Place to the Manor Born and Mad Prices at McLean

December 31, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: A “tiny house” on Westlund.

9 Westlund Rd., Ranch (1950). Sold: $615,000.

73 Dartmouth St. Multifamily (1900). Sold: $730,000.

69-71 Carleton Rd., Multifamily (1927). Sold: $899,000.

137 Claflin St. Center-entry Colonial (1934). Sold: $805,000.

93-95 Bartlett Ave. Multifamily (1928). Sold: $708,000.

204-206 Waverley St. #3, Condominium (1906). Sold: $399,900.

52 Summit Rd. #7, Townhouse condominium (2005). Sold: $1,300,000.

22 Wellesley Rd. Brick Manor House with a turret (1929). Sold: $3,092,500.

20 South Cottage Rd. #102, A unit within a renovated Georgian Colonial brick building (2015/1893). Sold: $1,495,000.

20 South Cottage Rd. #101, A unit within a renovated Georgian Colonial brick building (2015/1893). Sold: $1,450,000.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 9 Westlund Rd., Ranch (1950). Sold: $615,000. Listed at $629,000. Living area: 864 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 91 days.

• 73 Dartmouth St. Multifamily (1900). Sold: $730,000. Listed at $725,000. Living area: 2,016 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 71 days.

• 69-71 Carleton Rd., Multifamily (1927). Sold: $899,000. Listed at $915,000. Living area: 2,640 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 107 days.

• 137 Claflin St. Center-entry Colonial (1934). Sold: $805,000. Listed at $778,000. Living area: 1,686 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 57 days.

• 93-95 Bartlett Ave. Multifamily (1928). Sold: $708,000. Listed at $719,000. Living area: 2,200 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 127 days

• 204-206 Waverley St. #3, Condominium (1906). Sold: $399,900. Listed at $399,900. Living area: 1,044 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 79 days.

• 52 Summit Rd. #7, Townhouse condominium (2005). Sold: $1,300,000. Listed at $1,450,000. Living area: 3,240 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 113 days.

• 22 Wellesley Rd. Brick Manor House with turret (1929). Sold: $3,092,500. Listed at $3,200,000. Living area: 4,905 sq.-ft. 11 rooms, 5 bedrooms, r.5 baths. On the market: 57 days.

• 20 South Cottage Rd. #102, A unit within a renovated Georgian Colonial brick building (2015/1893). Sold: $1,495,000. Listed at $1,495,000. Living area: 2,825 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 481 days.

• 20 South Cottage Rd. #101, A unit within a renovated Georgian Colonial brick building (2015/1893). Sold: $1,450,000. Listed at $1,450,000. Living area: 2,680 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 525 days.

It was once known as Upham Memorial Hall, the building at McLean Hospital that served for 80 years as the upscale home for a select number of wealthy residents who were stark, raving mad. And a half century ago, Upham was the involuntary home of the great blues and pop performer Ray Charles, who beat a heroin possession charge by agreeing to a judge’s order to spend some time in the care of the hospital for “observation and tests.”

As for this week, the building enters its second life as the upscale home for a select number of wealthy residents who are willing to pay stark, raving mad prices to live next to other rich folks. (It’s so exclusive, developer Northland Development won’t distribute photos of the interior. “If you have to ask …”) Maybe it’s just me, but when I spend $1.5 million, I want something more private than a 2,600 sq.-ft. “apartment” that shares a floor with other “tenants.” How annoying it must be being interrupted while watching “Keeping up with the Kardashians” by some burdensome neighbor knocking on the door asking if they can borrow some Grey Poupon for their Poulet aigu de Tarragon. Oh, dear!

(I like this English version of the Grey Poupon commercial with the great English actors Paul Eddington and Ian Richardson.)

Top billing in terms of “wow” factor goes to the brick manor house on Wellesley Road, which was the long-time home of the Palandjian family, bought in 1969 by the father Petros and now owned by a trust for the kids. Although the exterior and elegant European/English landscape is more impressive than the relatively standard interior (What? No cathedral ceiling? Hrumph!)

Here’s a bit of trivia: Peter Palandjian is the last Belmont resident to play on the ATP Tour, ranking 280th in singles in 1989, reaching the quarterfinals in Johannesburg and Telford.

As for the house hidden on a back road on the Hill, its value has taken off. Appraised by the town at $651,000 just 20 years ago, it was assessed at $1.9 million in 2015. That’s a nice little $1 million bubble “profit” for the family homestead. Well, it does have a sauna in the basement, and the master bath has a fireplace, just like those in medieval castles.

My favorite house is the itsy-bitsy ranch on Westlund, a stone throw away from the Winn Brook. At less than 900 square feet, it’s smaller than most condominiums on the market. It almost qualifies for a “Tiny House,” which run from 100 to 400 square feet. While the exterior needs work, the interior is rather nice. The wood floors and walls are in great shape, the kitchen is a good size, and you get a living room/dining room that supplies all you need.

The only issue facing this great starter house is who bought it. Hopefully, it is a growing family who can gain some equity from the purchase. But the marketing pitch had an ominous final sentence: “Ideal for first-time buyers who can move right in and expand the house later or developers.”

With the town’s Planning Board still months away from formulating new bylaws on bulk and height limits for new construction, this little gem could be lost to an oversized faux Colonial with no style or soul.

Being Green Assists Belmont With Energy Savings at High and Middle schools

December 30, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Chenery Middle School.

Most residents know a significant amount of educational energy is produced by teachers, staff, and students at Belmont High and Chenery Middle schools.

What citizens may not realize is that the schools are also the greatest user of conventional energy in Belmont, consuming 50 percent of all power used in town buildings.

Any opportunity to reduce or conserve power there could go a long way to reducing the town’s carbon footprint and save taxpayers money, according to Gerald Boyle, Belmont’s director of facilities.

Thanks to a “green” energy grant that accompanied being designated by the state as a Green Community, Belmont’s heaviest users of energy will soon be retrofitted and installed with energy control systems with the aim of containing costs at both facilities by using electricity more efficiently.

The $151,000 grant will pay for the bulk of the $174,000 price tag – after energy credits, the town’s contribution is $11,000 – to install the systems, said Boyle before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Dec. 28, at Town Hall.

“We look at the best use of our money, and we view this as collecting from low-hanging fruit,” said Boyle.

The new computerized systems will allow for greater control of the schools’ environments – cooling and heating could be operated and scheduled from the Facilities Department’s office in the Homer Building. It can also produce reports and data highlighting how specific systems components such as pumps, fans, and motors, are working and if repairs are needed, said Boyle.

According to Boyle and David Kale, town administrator, the payback will be immediate. Boyle predicts annual savings of approximately $17,000 at each school with total repayment within four and a half years.

Selectman Mark Paolillo questioned if placing the system in the High School was worth the cost as the building could be renovated beginning in the next five years. (Editor’s note: Last week the Massachusetts School Building Authority selected Belmont High in the final review round before it decides on which projects it will fund in late January 2016.)

Boyle said the systems can be incorporated into a newly-renovated building “so it will not be ripped out” when the renovation takes place.

The grant was part of the package Belmont received after being named one of the state’s Green Communities last December, which encourages energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and promote the town’s clean energy goals.

Belmont will also be eligible to apply for future grants – up to $250,000 each year –to fund local renewable power and energy saving projects.

Belmont became eligible to become a “green community” after meeting five criteria including:

committing to renewable energy-friendly zoning,
expedited permitting,
programs to reduce energy use by 20 percent within five years,
the purchase of fuel-efficient municipal vehicles, and
Creating an energy efficiency requirement – known as the “stretch” code – for new commercial/industrial construction, as well as residential construction of more than 3,000 sq.-ft. The Belmont Town Meeting adopted this code in May 2011.

As part of the application process, an energy audit by Marlborough-based Guardian Energy of all town buildings to review the lighting, water use, and windows was completed to create an energy reduction plan. Town conducted a detailed analysis of municipal buildings and the costs associated with meeting the Green Communities goals.

Funded by a regional cap-and-trade program, more than $30 million have been paid out to cities and towns since 2010.

Sports: Kerans Tops 1,000 Point Mark in Belmont’s 61-58 Win Over New Bedford

December 30, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Matt Kerans.

If there was a shot Matt Kerans would make to reach 1,000 points in his Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball career, it should be from beyond the arc.

The senior co-captain and pre-season Middlesex League All-Star reached the milestone off a trademark fall-away, three pointer in the Marauders’ 61-58 victory over New Bedford on the second and final day of the 2015 BABC Holiday Classic held at Cathedral High School on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

See the shot by going to the Middlesex Magic Twitter page.

The four-year starter scored a game-high 28 points in the win, raising Belmont’s record to 5-2 as the team prepares to meet league powerhouse Woburn High on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at the Wenner.

Kerans joins just a handful of Marauders’ on the 1,000 point club: Steven Pollard (’86), Mike Costello (’96), Mark Mulvey (’93), Timmie Barrows (’07), Larry Norman (’88), Asa Palmer (’93) and Kerans’ former teammate Adam Kleckner (’15).

Icy Roads, Hazardous Conditions Greet Commuters Tuesday Morning, Afternoon

December 28, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Yuck.

Ice-covered roads along with a wintry mix of snow and sleet will greet commuters Tuesday morning and later in the afternoon, Dec. 29, as the first blast of winter, hits Belmont and Eastern Massachusetts, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Taunton.

The service issued a winter weather advisory at 10:15 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28 that will last until 1 p.m. Tuesday, resulting in hazardous travel conditions as a mix of snow and sleet coats streets and highways before dawn with a layer of an icy slush on untreated roadways.

While conditions will improve in the early afternoon as temperatures rise, streets will once again become slippery in the afternoon as a cold front comes through the Boston area, warns the service.

The snow will fall around midnight and continue to 4 a.m., turning to snow and sleet with the accumulation of around an inch possible.

Rain, snow, and sleet will end before 7 a.m., then turning to rain and sleet between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., then rain after 10 a.m. High near 36. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Rain showers are likely before 9 p.m., then a chance of freezing drizzle between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Lone Tree Hill’s Pine Allée Receives $150K Gift from Record Memorial Fund

December 28, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: The Pine Allée in Belmont’s Lone Tree Hill.

You have probably admired them without knowing it had a name.

Walking between a line of trees or shrubs along each side of a lane, an allée is a landscape feature first formally used in French gardens and estates to emphasize the “coming to,” or arrival to a specific point of interest.

The best-known example in these parts is the Grand Allée on the Crane Estate at Castle Hill in Ipswich. Finished a century ago this year, the half-mile-long, 100-foot-wide stretch of turf, bordered by two rows of trees, is a spectacular example of that effect.

But you don’t have to take a trip to the North Shore to see one around Belmont, there’s one already here.

The Pine Allée, running adjacent to upper Concord Avenue near the Belmont Hill Club on the Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land, is one of the signature landscape features of the newest open space in Belmont.

But like so much open land in Belmont, there is always a need for funds to maintain this historical landmark.

Earlier this month, Belmont Board of Selectmen accepted a $150,000 gift from the Judith K Record Memorial Conservation Fund to begin the much-needed work on the allée.

Kit Dreier, chair of the Record Fund, told the board the fund’s trustees were pleased that the funds will be used to hire an arbor care firm to undertake and oversee the recommended work, much of it to be performed during the winter when the ground is frozen so not to damage the landscape.

“We hope that the measures to protect the Allée’s health and to assure its long-term safety will extend its life well into the future,” said Dreier.

Sports: Belmont Boys’ Hoops Bumped from Undefeated on Last Second Drive at Arlington

December 28, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont’s junior Dylan Ferdinand making a layup vs. Arlington.

It was not the way Belmont High Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Adam Pritchard wanted his team to prep before facing a pair of strong basketball squads in the Boston Amateur Basketball Club’s annual Holiday Classic in Boston over the holiday break.

An inspired game by host Arlington High School minus the solid games Belmont had been playing in the first four games of the season added up to a loss for the Marauders, knocking them from the undefeated.

Tied at 58 after a layup with 12 seconds remaining, Belmont’s defense could not contain Arlington’s junior guard Colin McNamara (a game high 17 points) who drove through the Marauders defense to score the winning bucket with 1.2 seconds left and give Arlington (4-1) the 60-58 win over Belmont (4-1) on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Pritchard didn’t mince words disecting the defeat.

“We played lousy defense, we didn’t box out. You lose by two points, you think it comes down to this and that. But flat out, right down to the last play of the game when [McNamara] beat us off the dribble. That play happened over and over again,” said Pritchard.

“I’m sure all our guys are disappointed but this game isn’t that complicated. You keep the guys in front of you, you box out, you limit them to one shot and that did not happen,” he said.

A close affair for the entire game, both teams came out guns ‘a blazing, scoring 18 points in the first quarter with seven Marauders getting on the scoring column led by senior shooting guard Cole Bartels (10 points) with a three and a two

The Marauders kept up the pressure in the paint in the second quarter as senior Luke Peterson (9 points) dropped in a pair of hoops as well as a free throw to contribute five of Belmont’s 12 points, giving the visitors a 30-27 lead at the half.

After the break, Arlington found its D and worked hard fronting Belmont’s players, limiting the Marauders to mostly outside shots. Senior point guard Matt Kerans (16 points) and Bartels each hit open threes but Belmont could only muster two other baskets while Danny Slebodnick led the SpyPonders with 7 points which tallied 16 points to Belmont’s 10 in the third, and falling behind the hosts ssssaasaby three, 43-40.

“They played better defence than us. It didn’t have anything to do with home or away,” said Pritchard.

The fourth stanza saw Belmont hanging around one to three points from the Arlington lead, cutting it to a single point, 54-53 with three minutes to play on a Justin Wagner layup.

After swapping a basket and a free throw (Belmont missed a third, 6 of 18, of their chances from the charity strip), a good defensive stance gave the Marauders the ball wth 26 seconds left. A drive by Kerans opened the court for junior sixth man Dylan Ferdinand (6 points) to hit a layup with 12 second remaining to tie the game.

Yet the basket wasn’t enough to secure a chance at overtime.

Belmont will spend the winter recess going against some heavy hitters in the Holiday Classic being held at Cathedral High School in Boston’s South End. Thirteen boys’ basketball teams, including three from out of state, will take part in the tournament.

Belmont opens the tourney vs. Everett at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 28 then taking on New Bedford at 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

This Week: Winter Break Movie Tuesday, New Year’s Mixer at the Beech

December 28, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Minnons on Tuesday.

On the government side of this week:

The Belmont Board of Selectmen will be meeting at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 28 in Town Hall to renew the Belmont Media Center’s agreement and review its annual report, the presentation of an RFP for the town’s Verizon contract and the appointment of a new member of the Planning Board.

• Music & Movement with Rubi, a movement and music program recommended for ages 3 to 5 (but 2-year-olds are welcome) will be held in the Flett Room on Monday, Dec. 28. There will be two sessions: 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

• Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, at 10:30 a.m on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.

• Back from visiting relatives and wondering what you can do with those kids out on the holiday recess? How about taking in a Winter Break Movie at the Belmont Public Library? Beginning at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29, the library will be screening “MINIONS” in the Assembly Room. The movie is rated PG and has a running time of 1 hour 31 minutes. Snacks will be provided!

• Musician David Polansky returns to the Beech Street Center for its annual New Year’s Mixer on Tuesday, Dec. 29, beginning at 3 p.m. One of the most popular musicians to entertain at the Center, David Polansky will regale us with seasonal and holiday music, including original tunes.

• Celebrate New Year’s Eve a few hours early with a Family Dance Party on Thursday, Dec. 31 with Jeff Jam who plays upbeat kids’ classics for little ones from newborns to six-year-olds and their families. The show starts at 10:30 a.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.

Sports: Belmont Girls’ Hoops Remains Undefeated Behind Winklaar’s Big Night

December 25, 2015 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High co-captain Samari Winklaar.

In the last game of 2015, Belmont High senior co-captain Samari Winklaar went off like a New Year’s firework, scoring 15 points in the first half (half of the team’s total) on her way to a career-high 19 points as she spurred on her teammates to a 48-31 victory over hosts Arlington High School Spy on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

“I was waiting for my teammates to pass me the ball and taking them down early,” said the two-year starter.

The win ups the Marauders’ record to 4-0 has they head off into the winter recess. Waiting for them on the other side of the holidays will be a clash with undefeated and two-time Middlesex League Liberty Division Woburn High School.

“It will be a battle,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart. “After a long layoff; that’s not great to face a great team. The main thing is to make sure that we’re tough mentally on offense because they’ll be tough on us defensively.”

Hart and her traveling army – she is currently carrying 18 players on the bench – came into Arlington High’s gym riding a three-game winning streak facing a team who lost its best player, Grace Carter, to a knee injury.

Belmont came out employing a swarming defense reminiscent of last year’s defense that made it difficult for Arlington to set up their offense.

Belmont jumped to a 9-3 lead on a drive by sophomore point guard Carly Chrisofori (9 points), two baskets (a runner and jumper off an offensive rebound) by Winklaar and a three point bomb by sophomore Jenny Call (6 points) before Winklaar ended the quarter wih a pair of buckets to see the lead streached to 13-3.

Winklaar took command of the offense in the second quarter, scoring on drives to the hoop and from jumpers, including a three in the second when she scored nine of the team’s 17 points, putting the game out of reach at half time at 30-10.

The second half saw Hart go down the bench, bringing in freshman Megan Tan (4 points) to defend the Arlington point guards and fellow frosh Jess Giorgio who, at 6’1″, did an effective job forcing the SpyPonders to alter their shot selection while chipping in with a basket from in close.

Sophomore Alexa Sabatino took over for Christofori and handled quarterbacking the squad while knocking down 3 points.

“We have a lot of girls who can really run and attack the defense,” said Hart.

“It’s a real strength that we have the kind of depth we do. If someone is having trouble shooting or in foul trouble, we have someone at every position. We have an answer to something, and that is really helpful,” she said.