Things to Do Today: Early Release, Brownsberger at Beech Street , Story Time

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Today is Good Friday and the beginning of the week-long April recess for the town’s students.

• It’s early release at the six Belmont public schools today: The High School at 10:30 a.m.; Chenery Middle School at 11 p.m. and the elementary school’s at 11:40 p.m. with the exception of the Winn Brook which will release at 11:50 p.m.

• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will be at the Beech Street Center at 10 a.m. to meet with residents and hear their concerns.

• Come to the Friday pre-school Story Time taking place at the Benton Library (at the corner of Oakley and Old Middlesex) beginning at 10:30 a.m. and led by Denise Patnod. There will be stories and crafts for children 3 to 5. Siblings may attend with adults. Parents or caregivers must be present. Registration is not required.

• Well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan performs original songs and traditional favorites at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room at 10:30 a.m.

• While Monday is Patriots’ Day, it is today in 1775 when Paul Revere and William Dawes began their rides warning the Massachusetts countryside that “the regulars” were on the march.

Goose Busters Program Coming Back to Belmont

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When your fields and playgrounds are fouled by fowls, who are you going to call?

Goose busters!

In an effort to control the waste left on Belmont’s fields and common areas by Canada geese, the most common waterfowl species in North America, the Belmont Health Department will be establishing a new, more formalized “off-leash” registration program for residents and their pet pooches, according to members of the Belmont Board of Health at an informational meeting held last week and in subsequent interviews.

A past attempt to register dogs to run on the tows playing fields was less organized or controlled, resulting in an ineffective scheme. The existing “Off-Leash Program for Dogs on Belmont Athletic Fields” run by the Recreation Department is $40 per resident dog for 2014.

“[O]ver the recent years we have found residents made  little or no attempts to actually have their dogs involved in chasing geese,” Belmont’s Health Director Stefan Russakow told the Belmontonian Thursday, April 17.

Under this new initiative, the town’s Recreation Department in conjunction with Belmont’s Animal Control Officer John Maguranis, will create a registration program that will allow dogs to be “off leash” outside their owner’s property.

Under the proposed guidelines (Article 8) for animals that will be voted on by Town Meeting in May, no dogs will be allowed “to run free” without permission from the Board of Health.

One important part of the new program will be determining if those dogs “are good citizens,” said Board Vice Chair Dr. David Alper, that they can be controlled by their owners while on the fields and playgrounds.

According to Russakow, his department will not be issuing ‘licenses’ for off-leash activities on the fields, but creating a laminated card similar to the former “goose buster” card of the past indicating the owner has paid the fee and their pet was evaluated by Maguranis.

The new program “will be looking at activities for dog owners and their animals to increase animal and human health through exercise in the future,” said Russakow.

In fact, Russakow said as a result of the expanded nature of the initiative, his department will not be using the term “goose busters.”

“Any secondary benefit like keeping geese off the fields is a plus,” he said.

Letter to the Editor: Please, Town Meeting, Don’t Shut Down Doggie Day Care

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To the editor:
Please urge Town Meeting members to NOT shut down or curtail the business of Crate Escape. My dog has been going to Crate Escape for almost eight years. It allows me to have a busy personal and professional life that would otherwise be impossible. The people who work at Crate Escape are terrific; they know my dog, they care about her, they groom her, they help me buy the right kind of food for her.
In short, they help make me a more responsible and knowledgeable dog owner. The place is very clean, orderly and well-run. It is located in a part of town that I believe is not residential and therefore, the presence of dogs should not be a nuisance for anybody. The owners of Crate Escape are lovely, responsible people.
Please don’t take this wonderful service away.
Judy Foreman
Nationally Syndicated Health Columnist
Brattle Street
Cambridge

Belmont High Darkroom To Be Named for Late Benefactor’s Generosity

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In a rare gesture at Belmont schools, the Belmont School Committee unanimously approved a recommendation from Belmont School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston to name the photography darkroom at Belmont High School after Paula Lerner, the award-winning Belmont photographer who donated her extensive photo equipment to the Belmont High arts department before her death in March 2012.

“The administration certainly endorses the request as it is perfectly appropriate commemoration for the considerable contribution that Paula Lerner made to the development of a really compelling program at the High School,” said Kingston in his recommendation.

The request for a memorial plaque bearing Lerner’s name and date of the dedication came from Andrew Roy, the Belmont High teacher who instructs the Photography III Honors class and whose students use the equipment, which, Roy noted, is the “single largest donation to the photography program in [more than] 10 years.”

“There has been so much positive outcome from Ms. Lerner’s generosity and my students have truly benefited in ways far more significant that the material gifts and financial support,” said Roy.

The honors program used a Foundation for Belmont Education grant to create an exhibition of photos in Lerner’s style in the summer of 2013 at the Belmont Media Center in honoring her.

Easter Services in Belmont

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All Saints’ Church (Episcopal)
17 Clark St. (on Common Street)
617-484-2228

Thursday, April 17
6:30 p.m. – Agape Meal

Friday, April 18
Noon – Stations of the Cross
7 p.m. – Good Friday Liturgy which will include a dramatic reading of the Passion according to St. John.

Saturday, April 19

8:30 a.m. – Holy Saturday Liturgy

Sunday, April 20
10 a.m.: Festival Holy Eucharist, Rite II (Childcare for children up to age three.)

After the service: coffee hour.

Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church
421 Common St. (Cushing Square)
617-489- 0730

Thursday, April 17

7:30 p.m.: Maundy Service

Friday, April 18

7 p.m.: Tenebrae Service for Good Friday.

Sunday, April 20

10:30 a.m.: Easter Sunday.

Christ Lutheran Church
597 Belmont Street (on Common Street)
617-484-4352
Cornerstone Baptist Church
54 Brighton St.
617-489-2498

Sunday, April 20
6:30 a.m.: Sunrise Service.

7:30 a.m.: Full Breakfast

9:30 a.m.: Sunday School

10:45 a.m.: Morning Service

6:30 p.m.: Evening Service

Crossroads Evangelical Church
51 Lexington St.
617-489-4959

Sunday morning worship begins at 11 a.m.

First Armenian Church
380 Concord Ave.
617-484-4779

Sunday, April 20

10:30 a.m. Easter services

First Baptist Church of Belmont
129 Lexington Street
(617) 484-1310

Thursday, April 17

6 p.m.: Maundy Thursday Service

Sunday, April 20

10 a.m.: Easter services

First Church in Belmont, Unitarian-Universalist
404 Concord Ave.
617 484-1054

Sunday, April 20

6 a.m.: Easter Sunrise Service at Habitat at 10 Juniper St.

9 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Sunday Service

11 am – 12 pm.: Sunday Service

Payson Park Congregational Church
365 Belmont St.
617-484-1542

Thursday, April 17

6 p.m.: Maundy Thursday Service

Friday, April 18

7 p.m.: Good Friday Service

Sunday, April 20

10:30 a.m.: The Reverend Lael Atkinson preaching and the Cherub Choir and Alleluia & Youth Choirs singing.

Plymouth Congregational Church
582 Pleasant St.
617-484-5257

Thursday, April 17

6:15 p.m.: Maundy Thursday meal

7:30 p.m.: Maundy Thursday service

Sunday, April 20

10:30 a.m. Easter Sunday Service

St. Joseph’s Parish
130 Common St.
617-484-0279

Thursday, April 17

7 p.m.: Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper.

Good Friday, April 18

3 p.m.: Living Stations of the Cross
7 p.m.: Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion at St. Luke

Holy Saturday, April 19

8 p.m.: Easter Vigil

Easter Sunday, April 20

Masses: 8 a.m. in the church and 10 a.m. in both the church and hall.

Saint Luke’s, Belmont
132 Lexington St.
617-484-1996

Good Friday, April 18

3 p.m.: Living Stations of the Cross

Holy Saturday, April 19

Easter Sunday, April 20

Things to Do Today: Book Club for Chenery Kids, Caregivers’ Group, Canterbury Tales

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The town is gearing down for the Easter holiday, Patriots’ Day and the spring recess for the town’s schools.

• Book Club for 5th and 6th graders will held from 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Children’s Work Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• Caregivers’ Groups led by Senior Center Director Nava Niv-Vogel is being held at 2 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• Today is the final full day of school until the April recess: Belmont District Schools get out early tomorrow.

On this day in 1397, Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II.  Chaucer scholars have also identified this date a decade earlier, in 1387, as the start of the book’s pilgrimage to Canterbury.

 

Belmont Planning, Health Boards to Make Changes to Kennel Rules

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The Belmont Planning Board and the Board of Health will be working together to make changes to a pair of Town Meeting articles that, if passed, would force Crate Escape, the doggie day care center located on Brighton Street, to close its doors, leaving 300 customers and 150 dogs – 75 percent from Belmont – without a home of the day.

“The intent [of the articles] were not to effect day care, only overnight kennels,” said the Planning Board’s Elizabeth Allison, who said she will be sitting down with the Health Board’s Vice Chair Dr. David Alper and the town’s Health Director Stefan Russakow to replace the current static number of dogs that can stay in a “kennel.”

“Is this a backdoor way to eliminate doggy day care in town? No,” said Allison at a Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, April 15, at Town Hall.

The two Town Meeting articles, number 8 and 9, updates Belmont’s decade-old animal bylaw to meet state standards and the zoning code on the definition of what is a “kennel”; the current regulations specify a kennel as being an outdoor shelter. Under the existing code, that facility could only hold up to 25 dogs at one time.

Under the new proposed code, the definition of kennel is expanded to include commercial entities such as overnight and extended-stay as well as day care businesses. But the Town Meeting article that would amend the Health Code did not change the maximum number of 25 dogs that could be kept in a licensed location.

According to Crate Escape’s owner Bradley Hastings, he would be forced to close his Belmont site if the articles passed Town Meeting early in May.

In response to Hastings’ concern, the Allison group is considering replacing the 25 dog limit with a formula establishing a square-footage percentage of dogs that can be safely held in an interior site such as Crate Escape.

“We will come up with something to keep [Hastings] here,” said Allison, who said she will be seeking the help of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in creating the formula.

Things to Do Today: A ‘Peeps’ Show at the Library, World Book Night, Boys’ Sports

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• They are holding a “Peeps” show at the library. But nothing more risqué than placing the lovable marshmallow yellow chicks into scenes as the Belmont Public Library hosts its annual Peeps Diorama Party from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Peeps shows and contests are gaining in popularity across the country; the esteem Washington Post has held a contest for the past five years with great readers interest.

• Yesterday was the last day to file a federal income tax return but the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has given state filers an extension until midnight this Friday, April 18, because of delays with its electronic filing system.

• World Book Night, which will occur on April 23, is an international effort in which members of the public apply to personally hand out 20 copies of a particular book (of 35 titles selected each year by a panel of librarians and booksellers) in their community to teens and adults who are light- or non-readers. Meet other World Book Night book givers and enjoy tea and cookies in the Young Adult Room of the Belmont Public Library from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Interested in being a WBN giver? Stop by & chat with this year’s givers. RSVP 617-993-2877.

• The boys are back: Boys’ Tennis will host Woburn on the High School’s courts at 3:30 p.m. and Boys’ Lacrosse will take on Wilmington on Harris Field at 4:30 p.m.

Get Ready Kids: Belmont’s Egg Hunt This Saturday

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Hundreds of basket holding kids from toddlers to nine-year-olds will descend on the Chenery Middle School field  this Saturday to participate in the Belmont Activities Committee’s 14th annual Belmont Egg Hunt.

The dash for eggs will begin at 10 a.m. sharp – do not be late! – on Saturday, April 19, rain or shine.

This year there will be a special area for toddlers to hunt for eggs in the playground.

In addition to being the presenting sponsor this year, Belmont Savings will also be giving away 200 “gold” coins at the event. Eggs with special gold coin slips can be redeemed at the tent during the hunt. There will also be a chance to win a bike.

Entertainment will be provided by Marcie of Kids Music by Marcie. The Easter Bunny will be on hand to pose for pictures and free refreshments and live music will also be offered.  Face painting will be provided by Cultural Care Au Pair.

Other sponsors of the Egg Hunt include: Champions Sporting Goods, Cultural Care Au Pair, Dunkin Donuts, Gregory’s House of Pizza, Hammond Residential, Kendall Confectionary, Lawndale Realty, Moozy’s Ice Cream and Yogurt Emporium, Paprika Kids, Patrick Murphy, Coldwell Banker, Tokyo Joe’s, Toy Shop of Belmont and Wheelworks.

For additional information on the branch egg hunt, please visit the Belmont Savings Bank’s website. 

Things to Do Today: Jazz Tonight, Story Time at the Benton, Planning Board in the AM

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• Today is the final day to file your federal and state taxes. Remember? You can always ask for an extension.

• It’s Jazz Night at Belmont High School as several great ensembles will be performing in the school’s auditorium beginning at 7 p.m. This is a “don’t miss” opportunity to hear the musical talent there is at the High School.

• The Planning Board will be meeting at 8 a.m. (yes, in the morning) in Conference Room 2 of Town Hall where they will discussing among other matters Town Meeting Article 8 and 9, an amendment to the zoning code effecting dog kennels, doggie day care and canine-related activities as a result of the rewriting on the Board of Health’s regulation on all things relating to handling and keeping of pets.

• Pre-School Story Time will be held at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. 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.

• The defending state champions Belmont High School Rugby Club takes on Needham High School at Harris Field tonight at 7:30 p.m.

• Belmont High School Girls’ Track will be hosting the Spy Ponders of Arlington High at Harris Field beginning at 3:30 p.m.