They’re Back! First Day of School in Belmont Wednesday, Sept. 2

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Photo: Crossing the street at the Burbank. 

Remember the alarm clock? It probably hasn’t been heard since the last week in June; but starting today, it returns as a weekday companion for parents and children as Wednesday, Sept. 2, marks the first day of school in Belmont for student in 1st through 12th grades.

Kindergarten students get to sleep in for a week, as the youngest Belmont students start on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 8 and 9.

Belmont High School starts at 7:35 a.m.; Chenery Middle School at 7:55 a.m.; the Burbank, Butler and Wellington elementary schools at 8:40 a.m.; and the Winn Brook at 8:50 a.m. 

For school hours, the school-year calendar, bus routes, lunch menus, and more information, go to www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/

With students being greeted by temperatures reaching the lower 90s on both days – and with several schools lacking adequate air conditioning – school officials are suggesting students come to school with water and stay hydrated.

On these first two days of the 2015-16 year – the six Belmont public schools will be closed Friday, Sept. 4 through Monday, Sept. 7 for the Labor Day holiday – Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan is asking for parents and students to be safe and patient.

Phelan said due to street closures and road construction throughout the town, drivers learning new routes and parents giving long goodbyes to children on their first days, buses will likely be delayed. 

Parents driving their children to school along with students driving to Belmont High School are also being asked to be patient while each school’s administration works out the kinks of their drop-off and pick-up plans.

In addition, Phelan and the Belmont Police are asking all drivers “to be mindful of our students who are walking or biking to school.”  

“The sidewalks, streets,  and parking lots will be congested and we want to make sure all can share the road safely,” said Phelan. 

Beginning this year following a suggestion by Phelan, the district has adopted a pre-Labor Day opening to the school year. Phelan hopes starting school for two days, followed by the four-day Labor Day holiday and four days of school “will facilitate a smooth transition for our children.”

“This gradual start will give our students a chance to meet their teachers this week, find out expectations for the year, and set up their school routines,” said Phelan in his opening day memo sent to parents and teachers.

“Then, hopefully, they can spend the four-day weekend stress-free and return to school Tuesday refreshed and prepared to learn,” he noted.

Eye of the Marauder: Belmont High’s New Court Up and Running

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Photo: The new court at the Wenner.

Just six months after getting together with a group of friends at Conley’s Pub for a beer and to throw around the “wild” idea of replacing the worst basketball court – the vinyl floor at Belmont High’s Wenner Field House – any high school team had to play on, John Carson was standing on a shiny, new surface ready for action.  

“This is amazing,” said Carson, as he and that original group of supporters, school officials and the captains of this coming season’s Belmont High basketball celebrated the court’s completion at Wenner Field House on Monday, Aug. 31.

“Amazing that, one, we pulled it off, and two, it looks this damn good,” he said.

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John Carson.

The new stone grey and dark blue court – which will be inaugurated by Belmont High’s Volleyball team at a scrimmage this week – is a composite surface that took Rockland-based American Sport Floors about five weeks to complete.

“I couldn’t be prouder,” said Carson, who said once the original group of supporters – made up of himself, Paula Christofori, Jon Baldi, Chris Messer and David Ramsey – decided to move forward with the plan, it would take “only 10 to 12 weeks to get the money to do all this.”

The new court is an example of a growing trend in Belmont where – whether out of frustration or due to  philanthropic intentions – residents, businesses and groups join to raise the private funds needed to build or improve public infrastructure that town government is finding harder to finance.

Recently, private monies have been used to repair school playgrounds, irrigate town fields and “rescue” the new swimming facility, to name a few. 

The new varsity court joins the list of privately funded/public amenities that included a pair of $35,000 contributions; from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation and Belmont Youth Basketball Association. 

“In no way did [Belmont Savings] want their logo on [the center court] because they wanted to do the right thing, so hats off to them,” said Carson.

An additional $40,000 was collected from private individuals – “from $10 to $5,000,” said Carson – and $15,000 from Belmont Boosters allowed for the entire varsity areas to be redone. 

The adjacent JV court and surrounding areas will be completed in the summer of 2016 financed by a $100,000 appropriation from the town’s Capital Budget Committee.

Carson also praised Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan as “someone who gets things done” for making the project a priority “because it will be used by all students, and that was a key for him.” 

Opening the court to the players for a brief shoot-around – Carson said hopefully the new court “will bring a championship with it.”

“No pressure, guys,” he said to the players. 

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Medal of Honor Recipients To Speak At Belmont High Sept. 16

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Photo: Clint Romesha, a Medal of Honor recepient, will speak at Belmont High School.

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The actions by the soldiers, sailors and airmen to earn this award is heroic in every possible way.

Of the approximately 3,670 military personnel whom the medal has been bestowed since the Civil War, only about 79 are living today. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, three men who were awarded this highest military honor –  Tom Norris, a Navy SEAL who fought in Vietnam, Clint Romesha, a soldier from the Afghan War and Donald Ballard, a Navy Corpsman from the Vietnam War – will speak to mostly sophomores at Belmont High School about themselves and the courage, commitment and sacrifice they demonstrated.

“This is a really rare and unusual experience for our students and we are honored to have been selected,” said Deb McDevitt, the Belmont Public School’s social studies director and teacher at the High School. 

The honorees will arrive by helicopter around 8:45 a.m. and speak to the students from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., McDevitt told the Belmontonian. 

As part of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Conference being held this month in Boston, the society conducts outreach programs at area schools “to share their stories with students and educate the public with all the things they are able to do and lessons they learned,” said McDevitt.

The society connected with Belmont High School through an alumnus who is one of the 79 living recipients. Robert Foley (graduate ’59), who was awarded his medal for actions during his service in the Vietnam conflict, is unable to attend the conference but suggested his alma mater as one of the schools on the speakers list. 

“They contacted me to see if we would be willing to host and welcome these speakers and I immediately said ‘Of course!'” said McDevitt. “It was no question that we would do this.” 

The sophomore class was selected to hear from the men as the talk dovetails with the curriculum 10th graders are studying in General American History. 

“One of the essential questions we focus our whole year around is what’s America’s place in the world,” said McDevitt.

“When they hear these stories at the beginning of the year, students are going to have a much richer understanding of the wars the nation fought and the relationships and alliances we’ve had with other countries. This will ground their studies with real-life meaning for all the work they’ll be doing for the rest of the year,” McDevitt said.

Detour: Road Work to Impact Belmont Center for Week

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Photo: Big machines taking apart the Concord Avenue roadway. 

For the remainder of the week – which includes the first day of school and the beginning of the Labor Day getaway – Belmont Center will be a good place to actively avoid.

Beginning Monday Aug. 31 and lasting until Friday, Sept. 4, General Contractor Charles Contracting will begin road pulverization and full-depth reconstruction for

  • a portion of Concord Avenue, westbound  between the Leonard Street and the Belmont Police headquarters on Pleasant Street, and
  • along Leonard Street from Alexander Avenue southbound towards the underpass. 

During construction, the roadways will be closed between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Detours around the work site will be in effect at these times.  After 4 p.m., typical traffic flow will be restored and the road will be made passable.

For any questions or concerns about the project please contact Robert Bosselman, resident engineer in the Belmont Office of Community Development, at 617-993-2657.

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Cushing Square Municipal Lot Closing for Good in Fortnight

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Photo: The municipal lot in Cushing Square. 

A long-time landmark in parking scarce Cushing Square will soon disappear as Belmont Police announced Monday, Aug. 31, the closing of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo and Williston roads.

The lot, which serves neighborhood businesses, shoppers, overnight parking and commuters, will shut down in the next two weeks, said the release.

Police note that 50 underground spaces reserved for municipal use will be available to the public when the project nears completion in 18 months. 

The closure is due to the start of construction of the Cushing Village construction project, the long-delayed 167,000 sq.-ft. multi-use development that will occupy the lot, the location of the former S. S. Pierce store building at the intersection of Common Street and Trapelo Road and the former CVS site at Common and Belmont Street. 

After the lot is closed, area businesses that purchased town-issued monthly parking passes in the lot “will be allowed to park in the Cushing Square area free from time restrictions on parking with the exception of the following roads: Trapelo and Horne roads and Common Street. 

Belmont Police will work closely with businesses and residents to minimize the impact of an increase in vehicles in the surrounding neighborhoods. The department will rely on a similar plan in place during the reconstruction of the municipal lot in Waverley Square last year. 

Questions can be directed to Belmont Police Traffic Sgt. Ben Mailhot at 617-993-2538.  

This Week: First Day of School Wednesday! Mad Science and Ice Cream Friday

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Photo: A bit of mad science at the Beech Friday.

On the government side of “This Week.”

  • Board of Selectmen will hold one of its shortest public meetings in years on Monday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. before heading into executive session.
  • Temporary Net Metering Working Advisory Committee will be dotting i’s and crossing t’s as it finalizes its report to the Belmont Light Board on Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. 
  • Belmont Board of Health is meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at Town Hall.

• Pre-School Summer Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings can join with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.

• Come out to Harris Field at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 to watch the Belmont High Boys Soccer team scrimmage against Wayland.

• The Belmont High School PTO is meeting for the first time this school year on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room.

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which will take place in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 0n Tuesday, Sept. 1.

• The first day of the 2015-16 Belmont School Year is Wednesday, Sept. 2, for 1st through 12th graders. 

• Sustainable Belmont is meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• A strong Belmont Girls Swimming team, runners-up in the past two state Division 2 championships, will scrimmage Division 1 powerhouse Chelmsford High at the Higgenbottom at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

• Want to see the Belmont High’s new basketball/volleyball court in action? Belmont Volleyball will scrimmage Wayland in the (unairconditioned) Wenner Field House at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.

• The Beech Street Center is holding an Ice Cream Social & Mad Science Extravaganza beginning at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 4.

  • 1:30 p.m.: Ice Cream Social with ice cream from Rancatore’s.
  • 2:30 p.m.: Mad Science® of Greater Boston science show for children of all ages.

Bring the kids for this intergenerational fun event.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent library, is open on the first Friday evening of every month. On Friday, Sept. 4, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., come by the Benton on the way home or after dinner. Get a free library card if you don’t have one already. Explore the collection. Select some of our gently used sale books; all proceeds benefit the library.

Belmont Yard Sales, Aug. 29-30

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Photo: Yard sale in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.”

• Belmont Street at Oakley Road; Saturday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 19 Bradley Rd., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 19 Burnham St., Sunday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 72 Chester Rd., Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 and 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 165 Clifton St., Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 and 30, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 77-79 Fairview Ave., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• 129 Waverley St., Saturday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 16 Unity Ave., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sold in Belmont: Easy as Ones, Twos and a Three

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Photo: A split-level ranch in the Winn Brook neighborhood sold for nearly 12 percent of its original list price.

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

9-11 Sabina Way. Two-family (1923). Sold: $880,000. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 2,520 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 63 days.

218-220 Blanchard Rd. Multi-family (1952). Sold: $900,000. Listed at $849,000. Living area: 2,520 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 42 days.

63 Country Club Ln. New construction (2014). Sold: $2,050,000. Listed at $2,475,000. Living area: 4,824 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 225 days.

14-16 Vincent Ave. Multi-family (1910). Sold: $860,000. Listed at $895,000. Living area: 3,090 sq.-ft. 15 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 70 days.

65 Marlboro St. Three-family (1900). Sold: $875,000. Listed at $849,000. Living area: 3,216 sq.-ft. 14 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 42 days. 

199 Beech St., #2. Walk-up condominium (1924). Sold: $391,000. Listed at $429,000. Living area: 868 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 106 days.

115 Lexington St. Colonial (1925). Sold: $625,000. Listed at $699,000. Living area: 1,682 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 139 days.

55 Sherman St. Split-level ranch (1955). Sold: $907,000. Listed at $799,000. Living area: 1,840 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 139 days.

306 Orchard St., #2. Condominium (1900). Sold: $455,000. Listed at $435,000. Living area: 1,525 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 70 days.

I think it comes as a surprise to many people when they discover that Belmont’s housing stock is far from being a homogeneous collection of Colonials and brick mansions. 

Unlike outlying surburban locations such as Wilmington where 93 percent of the housing stock is the typical single-family house, just under half (45 percent) of Belmont’s 9,600 residential structures are detached homes, with an almost equal number being multifamilies.

This past week, more than half of the sales in the “Town of Homes” were multifamilies including one three-unit building or a condo in a two or greater unit building. It appears the market for multis is healthy as all but one of the buildings sold for more than its list price. 

On the single-family side of the week, the owners of the split-level on Sherman Street stuck to their guns (leaving their house on the market for nearly four months) and saw a nice bump of nearly 12 percent from their list price. Twenty years ago, the term split-level was a deal breaker for many buyers as the style was considered old-fashion and the structures cheaply constructed. Not now.

Tomatoes and Cupcakes Headline Market Day in Belmont

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Photo: Tomatoes at their peak. 

The best time of the year to enjoy ripe tomatoes is now. Market Day in Belmont this Thursday, Aug. 27, features late August harvest that includes blueberries, cantaloupe, corn, eggplants, peaches, peas, peppers, raspberries, summer squash, watermelon and many variations of tomatoes. 

This week’s tasting is by Yum Bunnies Cakery. Located at 241 Belmont St., Yum Bunnies offers custom cakes and cupcakes: You choose your cake flavor and filling. Voted “BEST Birthday Cakes” for two years running by the Boston AList, the cakery reminds you to “Eat your cake & have it be cute too!” 

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the summer until the final week of October. The market is located in the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.
 
Schedule of Events
  • 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Tasting by Yum Bunnies Cakery
  • 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Belmont Public “Pop-up” Library
  • 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Storytime by the Library
  • 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Music by the Sandy Ridge Boys
Monthly and occasional vendors at the market this week are:  
Carlisle Honey, Fille de Ferme Jams, Turtle Creek Winery, Underwood Greenhouses.
Weekly Vendors: 
Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Fior D’Italia, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats.
Food Truck in the Belmont Center Parking Lot

Jamaica Mi Hungry 

Marauders in the Middle: Second Year of Chenery Football Underway

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Photo: Head Coach James MacIsaac with some of the players at Chenery Middle School.

The grass on the Chenery Middle School playing field was green and freshly mowed on Monday, Aug. 24, greeting 40 7th and 8th graders who “are going to learn football,” said James MacIsaac, the head coach of the Chenery Middle School team.

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While the squad is a member of the Eastern Middlesex Middle School Football League, “I like to think of this as a 12-week football camp,” said MacIsaac who is running the program for the second year.

“It’s a great league because we don’t have playoffs or championships; it’s all about learning the game, being drilled in the fundamentals,” said MacIsaac, who is also Belmont’s assistant police chief.

Now in its second year after being dormant for nearly four decades, all but three of last year’s 7th graders have returned, “which says a lot about how we treat the players and how much they enjoy being part of this team,” said MacIsaac, a lifelong resident, as he put the players through their paces around the field.

The team will have three home games scheduled including one at Belmont High School’s Harris Field “which will be special. They love playing there, with the turf field and stands filled. It’s great fun.”

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