Letter To The Editor: Belmont Hill Proposed Parking Lot Unhealthy For Wildlife, Community

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Photo: A portion of the land owned by Belmont Hill School adjacent to the proposed parking lot

To the residents of Belmont:

The Belmont Hill School intends to build a 100,000 sq. ft. parking lot in place of the current woodlands. This space, almost as big as two football fields, is home to many animal species and is an extension of the ecosystem of Mass Audubon’s Habitat. Important species like foxes, deer, and owls depend on that land to survive, as do the large trees that provide clean air to the entire town. 

The Belmont Middle High School project has no parking lot for students and minimal street parking. All 1,300 students can attend school by carpooling, bus, walking, or biking. We understand there is limited parking at Belmont Hill School, but destroying critical ecosystems and natural habitats is unhealthy for the local wildlife and our community. The size of the parking lot that Belmont Hill wants to build is unnecessary and not worth sacrificing valuable woodlands. 

As Belmont High School Climate Action Club members, we oppose this harmful project. We hope the people of Belmont agree and stand with us against the currently proposed parking design. 

The Belmont High School Climate Action Club

belmonthsclimateactionclub@gmail.com

Marauder Hockey: After ‘Skip’ Finale, Belmont High Boys’ To Host Playoff Opener While Girls’ Will Likely Cruise To The Vineyard

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Photo: Skip Viglirolo (right) with Belmont High Assistant Coach Bob Shea at the final league match at the namesake rink

In the final regular season matches ever to be held at the “Skip” – that would be the Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink on Concord Avenue – on Saturday, Feb. 18, the Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ did the double with the boys’ winning in a workmanlike effort, 4-1 over Woburn High, while the girls’ recent lack of a needed finishing touch left their all-star goalie stuck with a 2-1 loss to the Tanners.

Even though the games honored the team’s seniors and the doubleheader ended more than half a century of high school games played in the rink – the girls’ team began playing there a little more than 30 years ago – supporters barely filled the stands, likely due to the start of February school vacation the day before. The day’s highlight was the presence of the rink’s namesake. Skip Viglirolo, his family and friends took in the boys’ game knowing it was likely the last time they would have a chance to see the old arena.

The Belmont Select Board recently declared it would not authorize the approximate $200,000 needed to repair critical infrastructure into the dilapidated structure. Town voters will have to opportunity to approve a $29 million debt exclusion to construct a new 40,313 sq-ft rink at the annual town election in April. Residents voted down a $35 million exclusion on an earlier rink design in November 2022.

The Boys’ were looking to right the ship Saturday – having gone 1-4-2 in the run-up to the game – with a victory as it prepared for two non-league post-season games in Springfield against juggernauts Pope Francis and Central Catholic [Update: Belmont would lose, 8-3, to Francis on Tuesday, Feb. 21, and defeat CC, 3-2 with senior co-captain Cam Fici earning the brace and senior co-captain Peter Grace putting in the third] to prep for the playoffs.

The game started with little urgency, as both teams were sparing to probe where they could take advantage of their opponent. However, by the second period, Belmont would strike three times, including a spectacular short-handed goal from – who else? – Fici, who deked and put the puck between the defender’s legs before rounding the goalie to put Belmont up, 3-1, at the end of two. Senior forward co-captain Shay Donahue would finish the scoring with a brace, and Fici picked up his third assist.

“It’s great to see what the seniors accomplished over four years including the shortened Covid season,” said Belmont Head Coach Tim Foley before the game.

In the finale, the Belmont girls came out and dominated the first two periods against a Tanner team playing for pride after missing the playoffs. But despite a flurry of chances, only first-year standout Mackenzie Clarke could send the puck into the netting with a second-period tally, while Belmont senior captain Bridget Gray was solid between the pipes throughout the opening two stanzas.

But the Tanners took advantage of Belmont’s propensity of finding the penalty box in the second and third to reverse the momentum and twice find the back of the net. The first came off a deflection when a Marauder defender attempted to knock down a shot that skipped by Gray, followed by a Woburn breakaway that Gray appeared to cover only to see it breakthrough. Belmont could not muster a challenge for the final 10 minutes to leave the ice empty-handed for the last time.

“I wouldn’t call that lack of scoring a problem this year,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Ken Murphy who noted that most of the team’s wins were in low scoring games as Gray and the back line led by junior Alex Townsend were the keystones of the defense.

“At the end of the season we didn’t have that one person who could score, and I don’t want to have that players, to be honest. I like three or four on the ice that work together to set up a good shot,” said Murphy, who has a good feeling about the upcoming playoffs.

“Coming from one of the strongest leagues out there, I feel good about anyone we go to see, that we’ll have a good chance because we are a solid team. We are three lines deep and a lot of teams can’t say that. We are solid with [Gray] so we are looking to make a mark in the playoffs,” said Murphy.

In the next to last MIAA power ranking of the season, while both teams are comfortable in the post-season, each just missed out of more favorable schedules. There are slim chances that due to other teams not releasing updated scores or late recalculations the rankings could change by the time the playoff pairings are announced this weekend.

Currently, 9th in Division 1, the boys (13-6-3) are one spot out of securing a pair of home games at the “Skip” which will close its doors one last time in early March. With the current standings, Belmont will host 24th-ranked Chelmsford (10-6-3) next week.

After missing the postseason last year with a 6-10-2 mark in 47th place, the girls were on the right side of the 16th seed, guaranteeing a home fixture in the first round. But a late-season falloff in scoring saw the Marauders limp in at 0-4-2 down the home stretch to finish the season at 8-8-3 in 18th in the Division 2 power rankings.

Last week, Belmont appeared that they would be driving and taking a ferry 100 miles and three hours (one way!) to Oak Bluffs to take on Martha’s Vineyard Regional. And as if it by destiny, as Belmont dropped a spot in the past week, the Vineyarders (12-6-2) rose one place to 15th, clinching a home game against the Marauders next week to be played at the YMCA Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena in Oak Bluffs.

What’s Open/Closed in Belmont On Presidents Day; Trash Pick Up Delayed By A Day

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Photo: Presidents Day, 2023

Two for the price of one. Living in Massachusetts allows residents to have your choice of holidays to celebrate on the third Monday of February.

Presidents Day is a commemoration of the Feb. 22 birthday of George Washington. And since it fell near the Feb. 12 birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the federal government in 1971 included the two birthdays under the one holiday.

But the Bay State officially celebrates “Washington’s Birthday” on the same day as the federal holiday. So take your pick.

Trash and recycling curbside pick up is delayed by a day.

Closed

  • Belmont Town offices and Belmont Light.
  • Belmont Public Library.
  • US Postal Service offices: No deliveries.
  • Banks; although some branches will be open in supermarkets. TD Bank will be open
  • MBTA: Operating on a Saturday schedule. See www.mbta.com for details.

Open

• Retail stores

• Coffee shops; Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are open

• Supermarkets

• Convenience stores, and

• Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Belmont’s Shea Top Ten At U20 Cross Country World Championships, Leads US To Historic First-Ever Medal

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea running through the vineyard section of the course at the World Athletics U20 Woman’s Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst, AUS on Feb. 18, 2023

Running in her first major international competition representing the United States, Belmont’s Ellie Shea finished a historic 10th place at the World Athletics U20 Women’s Cross Country Championships held Saturday, Feb. 18, in Bathurst, Australia.

The 17-year-old Belmont High junior’s result is the highest placement by an American runner in 32 years since Melody Fairchild came in third in 1991. The Emerging Elites runner led the US to a bronze medal in the team competition, the first-ever medal by a US U20 women’s squad in the 28 times the race has been run.

“I feel great. It was really fun. It was really hard. I fell in the mud and got right back up and kept going,” said Shea in an after race interview with LetsRun.com. “Getting the chance to race the best in the world is something I don’t take for granted.”

View a video of an interview of Shea after the race by the website LetsRun.com .

Held in the infield of the Mount Panorama motor racing circuit in sweltering conditions that reached 97 degrees, Shea said her strategy for the 6 kilometer race was to start conservatively and pick off runners as the race progressed.

As she mentioned, Shea’s race was nearly upended in the first minutes when she nearly went down transversing the course’s “billabong” – the Aussie term for a stagnant muddy water crossing – with her left leg sliding out from under her, forcing her to place her hands in the mock to stay upright.

“I was not expecting it to be that sloppy. I never run through mud like that before, but I got back up as quick as I can and let that adrenaline take me,” said Shea.

It took her a bit of time to catch up with the chase pack on the challenging hilly course that the International Broadcast commentator Steve Moneghetti called “the most difficult course” he saw in the past 20 years of the competition.

Predictably, in the team competition Ethiopia won gold (15 points) while Kenya scored silver (22). More surprisingly the United States snared the bronze (54), led by Ellie Shea.

Louise Evans for World Athletics

Despite the near mishap, Shea began stalking the lead pack occupied with favorites of Ethiopians and Kenyans, passing runners through the race including a trio of Ugandans who made up one of the favorite squads.

Racing with Irene Riggs, the national junior cross county champ from West Virginia, for most of the event, Shea said the race was going to be “a battle of the toughest” so she was prepared to put her head down “and grind it out.” In 20th place after her trip in the mud, Shea was 15th after one kilometer only 6 seconds off the lead pack, 13th by 2 kilometer only 15 seconds out of first.

As the race entered its final stage, Shea – wearing her trademark cobalt blue sunglasses – remained within the camera’s range with the leading group. In the final up/down hill portion, Shea passed Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu racing 10 seconds faster down the home stretch to break the log jam of the two leading countries and secure a top ten finish. Shea crossed the line in 21 minutes, 48 seconds, 55 seconds behind winner Senayet Getachew of Ethiopia.

The brave racing from Shea, Riggs (12th in 22:03), 2022 National Cross Country champion Karrie Baloga (13th, 22:12) and Zariel Macchia (19th, 23:05) powered the US to its first medal at the worlds.

“Team USA really showed up,” said Shea.

Ellie Shea (second from left) earn team bronze for the U.S. (photo credit: Fast Women)

The experience traveling 10,000 miles and 16 time zones from home – and now another 10,000 miles on a 24 hour plus flight back to Belmont – to come away with a world championship medal was a thrill, said Shea.

“It’s my first time internationally to race. It’s my second time out of the country ever, so it was awesome,” said Shea, who traveled with her mother, Belmont teacher Jamie Shea.

“I could hear her,” said Shea of her mother during the race. “It was awesome.”

Belmont High/Chenery Musicians Achieve High Individual Honors

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Photo: High and Middle School musicians hit the high notes at all-state, junior district levels

Before Thanksgiving, 50 students from Belmont High School were asked to perform in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA) Northeastern Senior District Festival, which took place at Jordan Hall at New England Conservatory on Jan. 7, according to Arto Asadoorian, director of Fine & Performing Arts for the Belmont School District.

On Jan. 21, several of those students were invited to audition for the MMEA All-State Music Festival. “We are very proud to announce that 10 students from Belmont High School have been selected to participate in the festival, which will take place March 2-4 in Westford,” said Asadoorian. The All-State Concert on March 4 will be held at Symphony Hall in Boston.

The Belmont High students are:

  • Helena De Figueiredo Valente (Grade 12), Chorus
  • Nathaniel Gillette (Grade 12), Trumpet – top score in the state
  • Jabe Hicks (Grade 12), Alto Saxophone
  • Lily Hicks (Grade 12), French Horn
  • Daniel Karma (Grade 12), Jazz Trumpet
  • Daniel Kim (Grade 11), Cello
  • Ethan Kim (Grade 10), Trombone
  • Meredith Knauff (Grade 11), Cello
  • Ryan Park (Grade 9), Trumpet
  • Su Min Pyo (Grade 10), Clarinet

On Jan. 28, 103 students from Belmont High and Chenery Middle schools auditioned for the MMEA Northeastern Junior District Music Festival, and 69 of those students were accepted and will perform on March 15, 17 and 18 at Galvin Middle School in Wakefield:

MaxAbouzeidTrumpetBHS
JosephBarryTromboneBHS
Brendan HanViolinBHS
HankHicksBassoonBHS
PatrickLeeJazz Baritone SaxophoneBHS
NilayNarayanViolaBHS
BenPalmerCelloBHS
LukaRozgicString BassBHS
HenryVidaverCelloBHS
BrookeWhalenTreble ChoirBHS
Elizabeth ZuccarelloEuphoniumBHS
PeterAloisioJazz TrumpetCMS
NickAndersonOboeCMS
CalvinBarnesMixed ChoirCMS
MadelieineBuellTreble ChoirCMS
SophiaBufanoTromboneCMS
ArundhatiChakrabartyTreble ChoirCMS
IvanChernovMixed ChoirCMS
NoahChinCelloCMS
SiennaChoiViolinCMS
EvaCohenTubaCMS
EllaConnellyMixed ChoirCMS
NailahCoulibalyTrumpetCMS
SimonDizekesTubaCMS
SamEnglerString BassCMS
EthanGongAlto SaxophoneCMS
JinyuGuTrumpetCMS
AanyaGuptaViolaCMS
AvikaGuptaTreble ChoirCMS
TeaganImbermanViolaCMS
SrishtiKarJazz Tenor SaxophoneCMS
TylerKimJazz TrumpetCMS
RebeccaKnightTreble ChoirCMS
CarolineLafkasTreble ChoirCMS
LaurenLinViolaCMS
ZoeLindseyTreble ChoirCMS
AnnieLiuCelloCMS
EmmaLiuViolaCMS
AustinMannMixed ChoirCMS
SophiaMiaoViolinCMS
GinevraMiglioTreble ChoirCMS
ChristelleMoiseTreble ChoirCMS
TimMolokovTrumpetCMS
IsaacMoonMixed ChoirCMS
JacobMoonMixed ChoirCMS
TagneyPaderaViolinCMS
HalleyPeckViolinCMS
EricPyoClarinetCMS
WilliamQinFluteCMS
ClaireQuinnViolinCMS
ShriyaSanyalTreble ChoirCMS
AbbySawyerMixed ChoirCMS
MarkusSendzikViolaCMS
ZoeShenTreble ChoirCMS
AlinaShiFluteCMS
StevenShiViolinCMS
MalachiSmithTenor SaxophoneCMS
SahanaSokkaTreble ChoirCMS
PaulSonClarinetCMS
WilliamSunAlto SaxophoneCMS
ElissaTianViolinCMS
MadelineTisdaleMixed ChoirCMS
LuanaWanderleyTreble ChoirCMS
TuckerWhitemanClarinetCMS
KevinXiangCelloCMS
EvelynYangCelloCMS
YolandaYuFluteCMS
BriannaYuehTromboneCMS
SophiaZhongViolinCMS

BPD Officer D’Andrea Awarded Department’s Lifesaving Award

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Photo: From left, Belmont Police Officer Marco D’Andrea receiving a Lifesaving Award from Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac for his heroic efforts on Thursday, Feb. 9. (Photo courtesy of the Belmont Police Department)

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac awarded BPD Officer Marco D’Andrea the department’s Lifesaving Award on Feb. 15 following his actions during a sporting event while he was off duty. 

“Our officers are sworn to protect and serve, and that commitment extends beyond their time in uniform, as Officer D’Andrea showed,” said MacIsaac who presented

D’Andrea was recognized for his actions that occurred on Thursday, Feb. 9. While off-duty at a soccer match in Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House, D’Andrea acted to assist a fellow player who suffered a medical emergency.

The 62-year-old man, who wishes to remain anonymous, collapsed while participating in the soccer match. D’Andrea took immediate action by ensuring Belmont EMS was called before beginning to perform CPR. He instructed a bystander with retrieving an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and used it on the patient.

After the AED was used, the patient regained consciousness. On-duty first responders arrived on the scene and provided additional care until Belmont firefighters arrived and transported the man to a hospital.

“We are all proud of his quick thinking and calm actions, and grateful that an AED was available as a resource, which helped save the life of a fellow participant that day,” said MacIsaac.

’23 Town Election Ballot Set: No Treasurer Candidate, Two From Three For School Committee

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Photo: The ballot has been all been set for the April 4 Town Election

The ballot for the 2023 Belmont Town Election is set. While there is just one competitive race for town-wide offices on the April 4 election, the competition for Town Meeting seats will be a battle in six of the town’s eight precincts and a pair of ballot questions will determine the future of a pair of town institutions.

The race for the open Treasurer’s office is no race at all as no one took out nomination papers for the post currently held by the long-time treasurer Floyd Carman. The future of the office will be on the ballot in the form of Question 2 which asks voters if the Treasurer should continue to be elected or transforms into an appointed post.

The lack of a candidate brings up the interesting predictiment that a person with the most write-in votes on April 4 could become either acting treasurer if voters approve an appointed treasurers post or could become the full-time treasurer serving the next three years if the voters continue to support an elected post.

Voters will have three candidates to fill the seats of Kate Bowen and Mike Crowley. Rachel Watson, Amy Zuccarello and Jung Yueh are all first-time aspirants for the town-wide office. And while none are Town Meeting Members, Yueh and Watson will be running for seats on the 290-plus member legislative body.

The retirement of Adam Dash from the Select Board could only muster one candidate. Community Preservation Committee Chair and Warrant Committee member Elizabeth Dionne, who announced early and effectively cleared the field, will be the first woman since Anne Marie Mahoney left in 2004 to be elected to the board responsible for the oversight of town government. 

There will be a new/old member on the Health Board as Stephen Fiore is the only candidate to take the seat of long-serving board member and former chair Donna David. Fiore returns to the board after being defeated for re-election in 2021.

Voters will decide the fate of a new municipal skating and recreation center as the project comes back before voters after a $34 million debt exclusion was defeated in November. The proposal before the electorate has changed, with a reduction in design and cost, now just under $30 million. The second question is about the aforementioned elected vs appointed treasurer’s position.

Unlike years past when three or four precincts would have more candidates than available seats, voters in six of Belmont’s eight precincts will be treated to a long ballot of neighbors seeking three (or shorter) year terms on Town Meeting. Precinct 4 will seat the 12 three-year term members on the ballot (there is a race for the single one-year term) while those in Precinct 5 will need to select the 12th seat through write-in votes. The most competitive race is – somewhat surprisingly as it goes against its historical form of being bereft of candidates – in Precinct 7 where 9 incumbents join 11 hopefuls for the 12 seats.

Some interesting hopefuls include Adam Dash running for a Town Meeting seat in Precinct 1 after six years on the Select Board, School Committee’s Jeff Liberty in the crowded 7, Emerson (’26) Student Government Association President – and best name on the ballot – Angus James Benedict Abercrombie in Precinct 8 while expecting a perfectly written and grammatically correct campaign sign from newcomer Jane Rosenzweig in Precinct 5.

Ellie’s Midnight Run: Belmont High’s Shea Ventures To The Land Down Under To Race In World U20 XC Championships

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Photo: Belmont’s Ellie Shea will be racing 10,000 miles from home Saturday in a land down under.

What are you doing over the February school break? Belmont High junior Ellie Shea will be flying 10,000 miles (think of the air miles!) over 24 hours to take part in a race that takes 17 minutes to run.

Shea will be wearing the USA vest as she toes the line at the World Athletic Cross Country Championships in the outback town of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia at around midnight Saturday, Feb. 18, Belmont time. Shea will be running in the Under-20 race competing against 72 of the world’s best young runners from 19 countries.

The two-time national high school 5,000-meter champion indoors and outdoors on the track joins a squad made up of mostly high schoolers who will take on the 6K (3.73 miles) loop course located in the infield of the Mount Panorama Circuit, which will include tire obstacles, a trip through a vineyard, and a mud field. The 17-year-old earned her spot on the team by placing second at the USATF U20 Championships in Richmond, VA in mid-January. Shea, who runs for the Emerging Elites club, finished second in December’s Champs Sports High School Cross Country Championships National Finals to her U20 teammate Karrie Baloga.

One of five races, the junior women’s race is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. or 1610 UTC. With Bathurst 16 hours ahead of Boston, Shea’s race will take off just after midnight on Saturday. Hopefully, Belmont will be able to watch the race live by going to the World Athletics YouTube and Facebook channels. The race will be carried live on Peacock, NBC’s streaming channel noted in the US for carrying live matches of England’s Premier League.

Australia’s oldest inland European settlement, Bathurst is three hours due west from Sydney on the expansive plains just beyond the Blue Mountain Range. The town is well-known for the aforementioned motor racing track and as a designated spot for tourism by Australians.

The weather forecast for Saturday’s race is clear skies and temperatures in the low-to-mid 90s which is not the environs that would lead one to believe there will be optimum performances.

So chookas on the big race, Ellie.

Two-Alarm Fire Heavily Damages Belmont Street House

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Photo: A two-alarm heavily damaged a Belmont Street house on Feb. 15.

A two-alarm blaze heavily damaged a Belmont Street residential property on Wednesday evening, Feb. 15.

Fire crews were dispatched after a 911 call came in at 8:43 p.m., according to a press release issued by Belmont Fire Chief David DeStefano. When crews arrived, heavy fire was coming from a top-floor window. The incident commander immediately struck a second alarm.

Firefighters from Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, and Arlington provided mutual aid at the fire. Station coverage was provided by Lexington and Somerville.

The fire was brought under control around 10 p.m. There were no injuries. The American Red Cross assisted the five tenants displaced by the fire.

The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Belmont Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

With Likely Final League Games At The ‘Skip;’ Boys’ And Girls’ Hockey Prep For Post-Season With Pink The Rink [VIDEO]

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Photo: It’s Pink the Rink at Wednesday’s games at the Skip

With the Belmont Select Board declaring two weeks ago it will not spend any more town revenue to keep the dilapidated Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink operating past this season, unless the Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ hockey teams can secure home games in the MIAA ice hockey tournament, it’s likely this week’s pair of contests will be the final time high school matches will occur at the “Skip.”

While both teams have secured places in the post-season, the tussles at home with Arlington (Wednesday, Feb. 15) and Woburn (Saturday, Feb. 18) will determine how many additional games will be played at the half-century old rink on Concord Avenue.

Currently 8th in the MIAA Div. 1 power ranking, the boys’ (11-4-3) could have two home games in the first two rounds beginning in the final week of February. But they will need to stay 8th or lower to keep those games which will be a challenge as the Boys host the SpyPonders (13-3-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. This will be the third meeting this season against Arlington as Head Coach Tim Foley’s charges earned a 2-2 tie in a Middlesex League match in January while losing to the SpyPonders, 3-2 in overtime, at the Ed Burns Tournament on Feb. 5.

It’s been a bit of an unsteady February for the boys, seeing consecutive losses for the first time in several years while compiling a 1-3-1 (each loss was by a single goal) record so far in the month.

Belmont will be relying on senior forward co-captain Cam Fici who has reached 100 career points in 52 games with 68 goals. Fici lines up with senior co-captain Shay Donahue . The Marauders puts out one of the top defensive pairs in the state with seniors captains Joseph Gaziano and Peter Grace who play in front of senior goalie Greg Federico.

The Belmont High Girls’ team have been hanging around a home game placement for the past month, currently ranked 18th (if the season ends with no changes would mean a road trip to Maratha’s Vineyard in the first round) as they prepare to meet the Div. 1 8th ranked SpyPonders who are 11-3-2. But one of Arlington’s losses was to the Marauders, a 4-3 victory in January, while Belmont only lost the other encounter, the season opener, 1-0.

For the Marauders, it all starts from the back with four-year starter and the heart of the squad Bridget Gray who has compiled 2,000 saves in her standout career between the pipes. The defense is anchored by juniors Alex Townsend and Jane Caputo while the offense can be found with senior co-captains Lily Duffy and Cece Carere, the Taylor sisters – sophomore Sadie and junior Mia – and first year Mackenzie Clarke.

Wednesday’s games will be special as the Marauders are holding a Pink The Rink fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization. There will be a 50/50 raffle, refreshments and stuff to wear on sale.