What’s Open/Closed Memorial Day 2023: Trash/Recycling Collection Delayed A Day

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Memorial Day is a federally FCC holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces. The holiday this year is observed on Monday, May 29.

Belmont will commemorate Memorial Day with an observation at the Grove Street Cemetery beginning at 11;30 a.m. to be followed by a parade to the Veterans Memorial at Clay Pit Pond off of Concord Avenue.

What’s Closed:

  • Belmont Town offices and Belmont Light are closed. They will reopen to the public on Tuesday, May 30.
  • US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.
  • Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

MBTA: Operating buses and subways on a Sunday schedule. See www.mbta.com for details.

Trash and recycling collection: There will be no collection Monday; trash and recycling will be delayed ONE DAY this holiday week.

What’s Opened:

  • Retail stores.
  • Coffee shops: Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are serving coffee all day.
  • Supermarkets.
  • Convenience and drug stores (CVS/Pharmacy) open regular hours.
  • Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Belmont High’s Lehr Takes 800M And Mile State Titles In Big PRs At Division 2 Championships

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Photo: One Win, One To Go: Belmont High Dana Lehr after winning the 800 meters in the D2 championships (Courtesy photo)

Belmont High’s Dana Lehr left the M.I.A.A. Division II Track & Field Championship in Hingham as hot as the weather.

Over two early summer afternoons during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the sophomore smashed personal bests in the 800 meter and mile to take home a pair of state championships while dusting off two outstanding sets of competitors.

On Friday, May 26, Lehr took to the front from the start of the 800 meter finals and held off fellow sophomore Danielle Lomuscio from King Philip Regional by less than 2/10th of a second, breaking the tape in 2 minutes, 15.56 seconds. Lehr came to the meet ranked 10th with a season PR of 2:22.69.

Even more impressive, Lehr’s pre-performance season best in the mile held on Sunday, May 28, was 5:20.36 (although her best indoor mile in 2023 is 5:08.01), only the 13th fastest in the field. But the 16-year-old quickly separated herself from the 12 runners in her heat and simply ran away from the field to finish in 5:00.98, 9.1 second ahead of senior Ava LoVuolo of Marshfield.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that for the past year Lehr has been a team-mate with multi-national high school track champion Ellie Shea at Emerging Elites.

Next up for the member of the Class of ’25 could be the New England Interscholastic Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday, June 10, in Bangor, Maine.

Town Of Belmont Gives A Watertown Pub & Grill A Summertime Boost

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Photo: Conley’s is serving barriers this summer

Since it opened more than three decades ago, a Watertown bar and restaurant has been a favorite hangout for Belmont residents. Situated across Belmont Street from Precinct 7, Conley’s Pub & Grille was the place for for a drink after work or the place to watch sports, especially when until recently Belmont was one of the last “dry” towns in the Commonwealth.

And now the town of Belmont is helping the Watertown watering hole, located at 164 Belmont St., a boost in its summer dining by blocking off three parking spaces with jersey barriers outside its front door.

But the establishment is located in Watertown where it pays its property and meals taxes? So why is Belmont providing a helping hand to a business not in the town? It has to with the lay of the land – or roadway.

Let’s go back to the spring when Conley’s co-owner and former Belmont resident Kevin Treanor wanted to set up outdoor dining as it is happening in Belmont. He approached the city of Watertown for a permit to block off a small portion of the street to allow for al fresco dining.

Sorry, he was told, but the curb along the south side of Belmont Street lies in Belmont. How the curb on the Watertown side of Belmont Street somehow belong in Belmont is the archetypical New England tale.

Glenn Clancy, the town’s engineer and director of the Office of Community Development, said his best guess on why Belmont extends beyond the street’s midline is likely due to a “quirk” in how the street was laid out hundreds of years ago.

Watertown’s Conley’s Pub & Grill

With that knowledge, Treanor – who was a long-time Belmont Youth Soccer coach – approached Town Administrator Patrice Garvin with the same request. After a little research including determining there was enough additional parking available on side streets, Garvin saw no reason not to help a popular establishment promoting al fresco dining which attracts a large number of patrons from Belmont.

“So we figured that given that it was this weird situation and they certainly shouldn’t necessarily be penalized for that, that all the other businesses in town have [barriers],” said Garvin.

In a gesture of gratitude, Trainor is donating 7.5 percent of proceeds sold in the new patio to Belmont’s general fund or a selected charity.

Not everyone was happy with the move as the owner of a Belmont barbers shop located across the street from the establishment made his thoughts known on social media on losing three parking spots.

‘But with Belmont attempting to change its perception of being difficult for new businesses, the Conley’s plea was answered in its favor.”

“We are trying to be more business friendly,” said Elizabeth Dionne, member of the Select Board.

Let’s Talk Budgets: Warrant Briefing On Segment B Of Annual Town Meeting

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Photo: Budget discussion this Thursday

The Belmont League of Women Voters is hosting a Warrant Briefing before the start of Segment B – the budget related articles of the annual Town Meeting on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m.

At this virtual meeting held over Zoom and broadcast via the Belmont Media Center, the briefing – cosponsored by the Warrant Committee and the League’s Education Fund – will allow Town Meeting members and residents to ask questions on budget articles prior to the first night of Segment B on Wednesday, May 31.

Town officials and department heads will be present to provide information. Moderating the meeting will be Geoffrey Lubien, chair of the Warrant Committee.

Viewing options include:

Participating on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87860421130

Zoom meeting ID: 878 6042 1130

Watching on cable television or live stream

Live broadcast: Belmont Ch 8 (Comcast); Ch 28 (Verizon). Livestream or on-demand: belmontmedia.org/watch/govtv

Memorial Day Observation With Parade (Abbreviated) Starts At 11:30 AM Monday

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Photo: The Memorial Day parade will go from the Grove Street Cemetery to the Belmont Veterans Memorial on Clay Pit Pond.

It will be an abbreviated parade at Belmont’s Memorial Day Observation ceremony held on Monday, May 29 at 11:30 a.m.

This year, the parade assembly and starting point has been relocated from Cushing Square to Grove Street just outside the entrance to the Grove Street Cemetery. Assembly for parade participants should begin at 10:30 a.m.

“So we’ll march from [Grove Street] in somewhat of a truncated parade,” said Mark Paolillo, chair of the Select Board. “We’ll miss going down Trapelo Road.”

The traditional observation will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the cemetery with speeches, the Belmont High School marching band playing the National Anthem, decorating of graves, reading the names of Belmont residents who died in service of their country during conflict, and the playing of taps.

This year’s parade will step off immediately following the ceremony and will march down Grove Street to Bright Road. The parade will turn left on Concord Avenue traveling to the new veterans memorial at Clay Pit Pond.

The Belmont Police is also reminding residents that blocking sidewalks in any way is prohibited and can create hazards for pedestrians. 

“Please make sure your vehicles are legally parked at all times and not blocking sidewalks,” said the press release.

Belmont Farmers Market Opens Thursday, June 1 With A POP And A Food Assistance Fair

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Photo: Opening Day for the Belmont Farmers Market is Thursday, June 1.

Mark your calendar: the Belmont Farmers Market will open for the season on Thursday, June 1.

The Opening Day celebration will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Claflin Street Parking Lot in Belmont Center with a ribbon cutting, a speech and the ringing of the market bell.

The market is open weekly on Thursday afternoons, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., until the last week in October.

Market favorite vendors are back, bringing produce, baked goods, prepared foods and knife sharpening to Belmont each week. In addition,

In addition, the Just Hummus food truck will be a Market regular throughout the summer.

Opening With A Pop

This year the market will participate in the POP Club, a nationally-recognized program aimed at empowering kids to make healthy food choices and learn where their food comes from. Each week, POP Club members get a $3 POP Club coupon to spend at the Market on fruits, vegetables, or food-producing plants of their choice.

Signing up is simple. If your child is between the ages 5-12, fill out this POP Club form or stop by the Manager’s Tent at the Market to grab a POP Club Passport. Then collect your $3 coupons, get a stamp, and go shopping.

Food Assistance Fair To Inform Shoppers How To Stretch Budget

The Market will host their second annual Food Assistance Information Fair as part of the Opening Day celebration. The fair’s primary goal is informing shoppers about the many benefit programs that can help them stretch their food budgets.

BFM’s food assistance doubles SNAP benefits – formerly Food Stamps – up to $25 weekly for each shopper. They are one of the few farmers’ markets that double Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons (FMNP) for eligible seniors and WIC families.

The Market’s food assistance program grew significantly in the 2022 season:
• $26,000 in matching funds for SNAP and FMNP, an increase of 60 percent over 2021.
• $22,000 in produce purchased from HIP farmers, an increase of 15 percent over 2021.

Donations from the community and sponsorships from local businesses pay for the matching program, while the Commonwealth reimburses vendors for HIP purchases. Spending those additional funds at the Market also supports local farms and businesses.

The Market is a project of the Belmont Food Collaborative, Inc. BFC is a nonprofit whose goal is education about food and nutrition, and helping families in need get fresh produce.

Editor’s note:

A reader asked: Why does the Belmontonian use “farmers” rather than “farmers'” in the title of the market? Here is an explanation from Kevin Hessel, a top-notched copy editor:

“[Farmers Market] is a descriptive phrase, not a possessive – a market for farmers, not a market belonging to farmers – so there’s no need for a possessive apostrophe, which is the only thing an apostrophe here would seem to indicate. Boys basketball, girls basketball, teachers union, farmers market, etc.”

“Descriptive phrases like children’s hospital (a hospital for children, not a hospital belonging to children) get an apostrophe because the plural children doesn’t end in s, also e.g. men’s basketball, women’s basketball.”

“A complete explanation of the applicable rules is under the apostrophe entry in the Punctuation chapter of the [AP] stylebook.”

From Banking To Beaujolais: New Owner Of Belmont Center Beer And Wine Store Set To Open

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Photo: Roxana Lemus, the owner of Belmont Wine and Beer in the former Cuvee Fine Wines on Leonard Street in Belmont Center

Ever since she came to the United States as a 10-year-old from El Salvador, Roxana Lemus was looking to take the

“It has always been a dream of mine to become a business owner,” Lemus told the Belmontonian.

And sometime this summer, Lemus will realize her goal when she opens the doors to Belmont Wine and Beer, in the location of the former Cuvee Fine Wines at 32 Leonard St. in Belmont Center.

The new Belmont Wine and Beer store on Leonard Street

“I am very happy about the opportunity that I see now,” said Lemus, after the Select Board approved her request for an off-premises beer and wine liquor license in March. The license was the existing one for the location, being surrendered by Gandbhir Swapnil who purchased the former Vintages: Adventures in Wine store in August 2016.

For the past several years, Lemus was moving up the retail banking ladder at Rockland Trust, as branch manager of its East Boston office on Meridian Street. It was when she recently purchased a house in Marlborough that Lemus said to herself, “it’s about time that I get to own my own business that was closer to my home.” Her search took her to Belmont where she discovered the long-established business was up for sale.

“I was first very, very tentative but then I knew this is what I’m looking for. So it was about time for me to step up and become a business owner,”, said Lemus.

While her primary goal is to continue the success of the business, Lemus also wants to get to know and support the Belmont populace.

“I want everyone to know me more than just a business owner. I want people to know me as Roxanna, that she’s part of the community.”

Breaking: Town Day Cancelled Saturday Due To Wet, Cold Weather; Rescheduled Sometime In The Fall

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Photo: See you in the fall

The 32nd Belmont Town Day celebration scheduled for Saturday, May 20, has been cancelled due to a daunting weather forecast for the day. According to Gerry Dickhaut, president of the Belmont Center Business Association which sponsors the annual event, will be rescheduled sometime this fall.

Showers are expected early on Saturday than becoming a steady rain by noon with the potential for heavy rainfall resulting in a half-an-inch sweeping the area. In addition, the expect high temperature is not expected to breach 64 degrees with wind gusting to 15 mph.

This is the second time in a decade the event has been postponed by weather with the day pushed back three weeks. The COVID pandemic forced the cancellation of Town Day in 2020 and delayed it into the fall of 2021.

Hosted by the Business Association along Leonard Street, the Town Day is filled with events including musical groups, classic cars, tours of the Belmont Center fire station, carnival rides, a bouncy castle, trinkets for sale, booths sponsored by civic groups and businesses and and lots of food. 

Belmont Community Path Phase 2 Hybrid Public Forum Set For Thursday, May 18

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Photo: A conceptional image of the Belmont Community Path above the MBTA commuter rail

Join the first Public Forum for the Belmont Community Path Phase 2 project. 

At this presentation and listening session, the Belmont Community Path Project Committee and consultant team from Pare Corporation will provide a brief overview of the project, a summary of the community input received thus far, and project work to date, including the draft route recommendation. The public’s input at this meeting will provide guidance for the development of the project.

Belmont has retained Pare Corporation and Toole Design to recommend the final alignment and to design Phase 2 which will connect from the Clark Street bridge to the Waltham city line with a linear trail and park.

The Belmont Community Path is a generational off-road, multi-use path that will provide recreational opportunities and a safe, walkable, and bikeable route to cultural, economic, and social anchors. It will also serve as a critical piece of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) which will connect Boston and Northampton.

The forum is taking place on Thursday, May 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be a hybrid meeting 

For those who wish to attend via Zoom, the link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85658595262 

For those who want to participate live, the forum will take place at Belmont Town Hall in the Select Board Meeting Room, 455 Concord Ave.

Get To See ‘Out Of The Bunker’ At Trinktisch Sunday, May 21

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Photo: Members of Out of The Bunker who will be performing at Trinktisch this Sunday, May 21.

By Monica Collins

Michael Shea, ad hoc leader of a new jazz quintet, says the name of the group, “Out of The Bunker,” is a testament to the world post-COVID after an epoch of isolation. People now go out without masks and cluster again in groups to hear music. And one place with a new listening audience is Trinktisch, the beer hall at 87 Leonard St. in Belmont Center where live jazz has become a vibe repast at Sunday brunch. 

The first time I heard “Out Of the Bunker” play jazz standards such as “Bluesette, “Body And Soul,” “Skylark” and “Fly Me To the Moon,” at Trinktisch, I was transfixed. The music was wonderful, the food and drink tasted delicious. The whole event just seemed like one of those rare occasions when all was right with the world – and the town of Belmont.

Two quintet members live in Belmont: Casey Jones, the drummer, is also a software engineer, and Gregory Schneider, saxophonist, is the Head of School at Belmont Hill. Keyboardist Shea, who has masters degrees in jazz and composition, is a professional musician and bassist John Capello is a high-tech entrepreneur who has also played with jazz groups through the years.

The guitarist Bunker (George) Henderson graduated from Belmont Hill School in 1968 and after college and law school went on to have a long career as an environmental lawyer and U.S. Attorney. He’s the husband of Dita, my college roommate and, yes, Bunker still carries the childhood nickname that inspired the quintet’s moniker – although Henderson is too self-effacing to admit that or other accolades in his backstory, notably his early career as an assistant attorney general focused on the Boston Harbor clean-up. When after decades, Henderson finally retired from the government, he homed in on another of his passions – the guitar. He yearned to become proficient as a jazz guitarist. 

At the Powers Music School, these players found each other, jammed and learned to play together. They rehearsed until they decided to go wide. Shea and Jones had long been craft beer aficionados and patrons of Trinktisch. One thing led to another. Chef Kate Butler and CEO Suzanne Schalow offered them the gig to play every other Sunday, alternating with the MAC3 Jazz Trio. (“Out Of the Bunker” plays again on Sunday, May 21). 

Now, Butler says she couldn’t be more pleased with Sunday’s sweet strains at Trinktisch. “Beer goes well with music,” she says. “This seems to really work.” Back in the kitchen, Baker gets much joy “hearing them play and hearing people at the tables clapping, it’s an overall amazing experience.”

Good music can lure you out of any bunker.