[VIDEO] Smoky Fire In Belmont Center Damages Stores, Studio, Residence

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Photo: Firefighters battling a two-alarm fire in Belmont Center.

A two-alarm fire damaged a number of businesses, a yoga studio and a residence in the heart of Belmont Center just after 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24.

According to Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell the smoky blaze started in a nail salon in the basement of the building occupied by Leon and Co. hair salon on Leonard Street. The fire quickly moved up the walls of the building which was renovated a number of times over the years. The fire reached the top floor of the bodytrio studio at the corner of Alexander Avenue. Fire crews from Belmont and Cambridge fought the stubborn smoke and fire inside the walls.

Most of the damage to the structure was limited to water and smoke, said Frizzell.

Driver Charged in Fatal Pedestrian/Vehicle Crash In Belmont

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Photo: Sachi Thanawala.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin announced today, Friday, Sept. 21, that Raymond O’Brien, 45, of Medford has been charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in connection with an August 28, fatal collision in Belmont that took the life of Belmont resident Sachi Thanawala.

Based on the preliminary investigation it was determined that the defendant was not in possession of a valid driver’s license and subsequently not permitted to operate a motor vehicle. The defendant had previously been licensed to operate in Massachusetts; however, that license had expired in 2004.

This charge is an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, according to the DA’s office.

On Aug. 28, at approximately 8:25 a.m., Belmont Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle crash involving a pedestrian at the intersection of Lexington and Sycamore streets. Upon arrival, authorities located Thanawala, 39, of Sycamore Street, who had sustained serious injuries. Thanawala was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where she died on Aug. 30. O’Brien, who was operating the vehicle, a 2015 Ford Transit Van, remained on scene.

Through their investigation authorities learned that the decedent was crossing the street at the intersection when the defendant allegedly turned left striking her.

This is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, the Belmont Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Taylor Makson. 

DA IDs Belmont Resident Killed In Watertown Square Pedestrian/Tow Truck Accident

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Photo: Location in Watertown of the accident that took the life of a Sycamore Street resident.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has identified a Belmont resident as the person killed when a tow truck ran her down just outside Watertown Square on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

Benita Horner, 68, of Sycamore Street was pronounced dead at the intersection of Galen and Nonantum streets after Watertown Police responded to a reported road rage incident around 11:20 a.m, said the office of Middlesex DA Marian Ryan.

Horner, who moved to Belmont from Quincy in 2010, listed her occupation as a cashier in the town’s 2018 census. 

She is the second Sycamore Street resident to have died in a vehicle-pedestrian accident. Less than a month ago, Sachi Thanawala, 39, was killed after being hit by a commercial van at the intersection of Lexington and Sycamore streets in Belmont.

Horner’s son, Philip Horner, 38, was arrested at the scene after attacking the tow truck driver, Thomas P. Fogerty, 60, of Quincy, stabbing him five times. The driver is hospitalized in critical condition.

Horner, which press reports said lived in Belmont with his mother, was charged today, Thursday, Sept. 20 in Waltham District Court with armed assault with intent to murder, according to the county DA. He is undergoing a 20-day psychological evaluation at a secure facility.

Resident Dies Of Injuries After Pedestrian/Vehicle Accident

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Photo: Sachi Thanawala (Belmont Manor website)

A 39-year-old Sycamore Street resident who was struck by a van and injured Tuesday walking in a crosswalk a few feet from her house died Thursday, August 30, according to official reports released on Friday.

Sachi Thanawala, 39, died at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where he was taken after being hit by a 2015 Ford Transit commercial van at the intersection of Lexington and Sycamore street at approximately 8:25 a.m.

The mother of two, Thanawala was the Director of Rehabilitation at Belmont Manor since March of 2016. She was an occupational therapist with 12 years of clinical and management experience in Geriatric care, according to Belmont Manor, a nursing and rehabilitation home located on Agassiz Avenue, a few blocks from the accident scene.

The driver of the van has not been charged with any traffic violation or crime in connection with the incident. An investigation by Belmont and State Police is ongoing. Belmont Police said there was no sign of driver impairment at the time of the accident.

Breaking: Woman ‘Seriously Injured’ Hit In Crosswalk At Sycamore and Lexington

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Photo: Police at the scene of a pedestrian/vehicle accident in Belmont, Tuesday, Aug. 28.

An unidentified middle-aged woman was critically injured after being struck by a light commercial van while in the crosswalk at the intersection of Sycamore and Lexington streets Tuesday morning, Aug. 28.

The accident took place at approximately 8:30 a.m. when a late-model white Ford Transit operated by a man struck the woman mid-way into the crossing located in the Waverley neighborhood. Belmont Fire and Police responded quickly to the scene.

Police closed off Sycamore and Lexington for several hours after the accident. A pair of brown shoes, a metallic water bottle, a scarf along with what looked like food was still at the scene by late morning.  

It is not known if the woman is a Belmont resident. 

Some eyewitnesses reported that a small child was with the woman but that could not be confirmed by authorities. 

“All we know now is that she is in critical condition,” said Belmont Police Sgt. Ben Mailhot, adding she was taken to a “local” hospital. 

Mailhot added that there was no sign of driver impairment. He could not say why the accident occurred on a sunny, clear day during the end of the morning commute. 

“There is an on-scene investigation with [Belmont] and State Police at this time. 

Nearby residents contend the street is not as safe as it could be, even after the intersection was raised to slow vehicles along Lexington. 

CHAMPS AGAIN: Belmont Girls’ Rugby Repeat As State Champions Defeating Lincoln Sudbury

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Photo: Senior Jess Rosenstein raise the state championship trophy.

Belmont High Girls’ Rugby Head Coach Kate McCabe huddled with her team just before the beginning of the second half of the state championship finals against Lincoln Sudbury Regional. Trailing 10-8, Belmont had been outplayed by the Warriors for long stretches of the match held at Newton South High School.

“Right now Lincoln Sudbury wants this game,” she told the team, looking at each player as she spoke. “I want you to want this game more. I want you to want to win this game,” said McCabe, imploring her squad to win each encounter on the field both as individuals and as a team. Now’s the time, she told them, to have the desire to win a state title.

And the Marauders responded with a dominating hard-fought second half punctuated with a pair of inspired trys by junior flyhalf Gabriella “Gabby” Viale – adding to her first-half strike – to defeat Lincoln-Sudbury, 20-10, to repeat as MIAA Division 1 state girls’ rugby champions.

“I can’t say enough about this team. They rose to the occasion when [the game] was on the line,” said McCabe after celebrating with her team with the state tournament trophy.

“I can’t describe it,” said team captain senior scrumhalf Jess Rosenstein who accepted the state championship trophy with fellow senior center Kiera Booth. “It’s great,” she said, pointing out the victory was due to a true team effort. “It’s all our[s] [championship].”

Top seed Belmont (8-0) won the two regular-season games against second-ranked Lincoln Sudbury (5-3) by five (17-12) and two points (14-12) in physical contests and the championship match played in sporadic sprinkles under overcast skies was just as rough and tumble as the previous matches. And it was the Warriors that took the game to the Marauders, keeping control of the ball while threatening to break runs from the back.

When Belmont did have the ball, it was losing possession in the ruck – when a player must release the ball after being tackled – as the Warriors moved the Marauders off the ball. 

“That was a sticking point which we had worked on so we knew that was going to happen,” said McCabe. “LS really pressured us on our first pass from the ruck and scrum and that took away our options.” 

Lincoln Sudbury struck first when junior center Shelley Zuckerman romped around Belmont’s right end to score the first of her two tries in the half to give the Warriors a 5-0 lead. 

Belmont responded on a flukish play as the Marauders’ drove the ball within 10 meters to the goal when a quick stoppage had both teams suddenly stop play. The only player to realize that the ball was free was Viale to picked it up and ran to try. The conversion attempt from an acute angle by junior lock Johanna Matulonis was missed to leave the game level at 5-5.

“I had these opportunities. I saw it and I had to go,” said Viale who has scored in consecutive championship games.

Belmont took a lead on Matunlonis’ penalty kick from nearly 22 meters with the wind to her back. That lead was shortlived as Zuckerman scored her second from 20 meters out to give the Warriors a 10-8 lead into the half. 

The Warriors came out of the half on fire as it quickly drove the ball to the Belmont 10 meters and then nearly scored on a solo run after a Marauder defensive kick, but for a last-gasp stop by junior fullback Clare Martin.

“Clare Martin was making amazing tackles all game, some were try-saving tackles,” said McCabe.

But once it weathered the assault, Belmont put its stamp on the game, retaining control and drove to the Warrior’s try line. Belmont came close to scoring, once losing the ruck within 5 meters to the line and once crossing the try line but did not touch the ball to the ground. The Marauders kept control in the Warriors’ end despite junior lock Sam Dignan being sent for 10 minutes to the “sin bin” with a yellow card. Both teams would soon be playing 14 aside when a Warrior was sent off with her own yellow.

The constant pressure Belmont placed on Lincoln Sudbury by running straight at its front line by junior 8-man Grace Christensen, Matulonis and sophomore prop Madeline Mulken finally gave Belmont open space along the flanks and Viale capitalized by taking a final pass down the right side to outpace the Warrior defenders to sweep 20 meters into try midway in the half. Matulonis’s successful conversion gave Belmont a 15-10 lead. 

The remainder of the half saw a tiring Warrior team unable to break Belmont’s defense, only passing the half line once in the final 18 minutes. Belmont once again drove into the offensive zone, keeping possession for a majority of the last minutes. After a penalty on the Warriors 25 meters from the try line, Viale quickly restarted play with a “tap-and-go” and ran by the Lincoln Sudbury defenders for her final try giving Belmont an insurmountable 20-10 margin with less than four minutes to play.

“I couldn’t have done it without the work of my teammates,” said Viale.

“Lincoln Sudbury was phenomenal today. At times we lost our focus that potentially could have changed the entire game,” said McCabe. “But at halftime, I asked them to make a difference in the game. It was that desire, the willingness to own how each of them played which made the difference.” 

BREAKING: Foodie’s Closing Thursday After Failing To Attract Customers

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Photo: Au revoir, Foodies

The rumors have been swirling around Belmont Center for the past few months: Foodie’s Market was on its heels financially. Business owners on Leonard Street heard the number of customers coming to the store had never materialized as the Roxbury-based business and landlord, Locatelli Properties, had hoped. Recently, the market suddenly removed an application before the Zoning Board of Appeals to place a small cafe in the store to attract people to have lunch and dinner in the store. 

“It’s not a good sign,” said Gerry Dickhaut, owner of Champions Sporting Good and president of the Belmont Center Business Association, said just last week. 

Today, the scuttlebutt proved true. According to a spokesperson at Foodie’s headquarters in Boston, the supermarket in the former Filene’s’ store will close on Thursday, May 31, nearly a year after opening in the center. 

“All I can say is we are closing our Belmont operation. That’s it,” the spokesperson said.

No reason was provided, yet a person who works closely with Foodie’s speaking on background said a highly-competitive food marketplace – a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe’s, and two Star Market locations are within two miles of the smallish (15,000 square feet) Foodie’s outlet – and the market’s challenging layout in the basement of the new building which forced shoppers to climb down a long stairwell from the Leonard Street storefront proved a “hard nut to crack.” 

Breaking: Belmont’s Mr. Hockey, Dan Kelleher, Dead

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Photo: A banner honoring Dan Kelleher for his 40 years volunteering with Belmont Youth Hockey.

Daniel “Dan” Kelleher who for five decades volunteered as a coach and mentor with Belmont Youth Hockey and was the first coach to generations of Belmont hockey players, has died. 

The long-time resident with his wife, Maura, of Long Avenue, was in frail health for the past few years. Yet he was frequently seen rink-side during Belmont High School’s playoff run this past season, having coached the majority of players a decade earlier.

“Belmont Hockey and the entire town have lost a legend,” twitted Belmont High Hockey. “40 plus years of volunteering for hockey and baseball. Had an impact on thousands of young athletes. Will be missed but never forgotten.”

“On the ice or off, Dan Kelleher was the kind of guy you wanted your kids to learn from,” wrote Kevin Kavanagh, executive director at Massachusetts Hockey.

Kelleher will best be remembered as the coach of Belmont Youth Hockey’s Mites, the eight-year-old and under players who play in their first competitive games against other towns. He hosted the annual holiday Mite tournament over the Christmas break that attracted teams from around eastern Massachusetts to Belmont. 

Kelleher also coached baseball with the Middlesex Senior Babe Ruth League.

Kelleher is a member of the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame (2001) and the 2001 recipient of the William Thayer Tutt Award, USA Hockey’s highest volunteer award.

He is survived by five sons, all of who played college hockey. Last year, his son Patrick was named the executive director of USA Hockey, the sport’s national governing body.

Like New: ‘Innovative’ Designs Upgrade Police HQ, DPW At Fraction Of Cost, Time

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Photo: Police Chief Richard McLaughlin in the current crowded police headquarters.

Last fall, the first cost estimates to replace the outdated and dilapidated police department headquarters and crumbling Department of Public Works building came in at a staggering $50 million for both projects over 10 years.

But through the innovative work of a talented Cambridge architect and the cobbling together of a financing plan by town officials, the police and DPW can expect upgraded and improved facilities at a fraction of the initial price tag and with the work completed in a tenth of the time.

“The architect has done a fabulous job,” said Belmont Police Chief Richard McLaughlin of Ted Galante of The Galante Architecture Studio in Harvard Square whose design plan based on renovations, creative land use and additions has the project coming in at just under $9 million with both updated facilities operational by 2020.

A public presentation by Galante on the design of the Police Headquarters and DPW building will be given on Thursday, May 24 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. 

The current police headquarters across from Town Hall at Pleasant Street and Concord Avenue is nearing its ninth decade of use and shows it; space is at a premium, there is no safe transfer of prisoners into the lockup from the outside, female officers have no lockerroom facility, paperwork and supplies are stored willy-nilly throughout the building and the second floor lacks handicap access.

Last November, the Special Town Meeting approved a new committee, the DPW/BPD Building Committee, which in one of its first moves hired Galante to lead the design of the project. 

“He’s been very creative and very ingenious. Every week he came up with something new and [the committee] said ‘Wow!”, said Ann Marie Mahoney, chair of the committee. To the surprise of the group, Galante “found a way to achieve everything … in the current location in such a way that we no longer see a need for a new police station,” said Roy Epstein, chair of the Warrant Committee and member of the building committee.

“He’s taken this to another level because I really didn’t think it could be done. I said we need to have the facilities here to be able to support all our work and this design does that. He made believers out of me and other people,” said  McLaughlin.

Galante’s design is the functional equivalent of a new station, said Epstein. The plans call for a new second floor located in the rear of the station adjacent to the commuter rail tracks that will hold office space and a new elevator. There will be a three-vehicle garage that will increase parking. The current garage will be transformed into large locker rooms and showers for male and female officers. The building will have a new electrical system along with air conditioning, updated plumbing and other upgrades.

On the left side of the headquarters, a new interior sally port to facilitate the transfer of arrested individuals will be located. To the right of the port will be a two-story addition with storage on the first floor and new prisoner holding cells and a processing center.

With work scheduled for the back and the side closest to Pleasant Street will leave intact the historic Georgian-style front facade along Concord Avenue. The renovation and additions will be done in stages so not to require officers to be housed off-site. 

“We are anticipating that construction will be completed on the police station in the fall of 2020,” said Mahoney.

The upgrade at the Department of Public Works will use modular units, similar to those at town schools. In the front of the main building will be a small unit which will be dedicated to much-needed office space. In the rear of the building will be three connected “mods” housing men and women’s showers and locker rooms, training rooms and a rest area for workers who are plowing snow or fixing broken pipes round the clock.

There will also be washing machines and other areas for cleaning services “because if you’re out there working on a sanitary sewer all day, currently there is no facility to clean your clothes before going home,” said Epstein. In the interior of the building will be an expanded break/cafe area and more office space. If approved, the DPW fix can be done by the fall of 2019.

The total bill for both buildings will be $8.9 million ($6.7 million for the Police headquarters, $1.2 million for the DPW); $7.4 million requires a vote by Town Meeting to issue bonds with $1.5 million covered by reserves. Best yet, “by inspired work” by Town Treasurer Floyd Carman and Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, the total cost can be done without a need for a debt exclusion,” said Epstein. Carman said the town has “sufficient monies” in revenue coming from capital turnbacks, premium dollars and retiring debt “to cover the debt service of $440,000 for the next 30 years.”

After A Gesture Of Goodwill, Norton Appointed To Fill Final School Committee Seat

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Photo: Jill Norton of the Belmont School Committee.

It was a political gesture that’s hardly seen in an age of insulting opponents and demeaning the process.

A vote to fill the vacant seat on the Belmont School Committee by a joint meeting of the Belmont Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, on Friday, May 11, resulted in a four-to-four deadlock between Jill Norton and Michael Crowley, two of the four candidates seeking the position.

As the selectmen and committee were prepared for the second round of voting between the two, Crowley told the board he wished to “make things easy.”

“I appreciate that Jill got out and ran and I’ve talked to her a number of times … and she would do a fabulous job on the school committee,” as he graciously step aside, withdrawing his nomination to allow Norton, who unsuccessfully ran for a term on the committee, to serve the remaining two years of Thomas Caputo’s term after he was elected to the Board of Selectmen in April. 

The act caught the boards and residents by surprise as the Clark Street resident was unanimously approved by the board.

Crowley said his decision was not due to any sense of doing “the honorable thing.”

“I like [Norton] and it felt right,” said the Warrant Committee member. “I didn’t want to see any quibbling or arguing which I did see any benefit in that.” 

For Norton, Crowley’s reaction thwarted her own thoughts of ceding her votes to her opponent.

“It’s funny because I potentially was thinking of doing the same thing Michael did but he got there first,” she said, noting a financial background is important as the schools make up nearly half of the town’s annual budget.

The closeness of the vote showed the group were of two minds on the skills the School Committee would need in the coming years. The first four votes were for Crowley, emphasizing his budgetary and financial background as well as his membership on the town’s financial watchdog agency.

“There’s sort of a void in that hardcore, number crunching [skill set],” said Adam Dash, selectmen chair.

Norton, who received the final four votes, was seen bringing a policy approach while each of members who selected her said she deserved credit for stepping up and running a good campaign and were vetted by the voters.

“I do give a lot of credit who put themselves out there for the election,” said Susan Burgess-Cox, chair of the School Committee.

But the differences were made mute when Crowley abandoned the race.

As for the newest member, Norton has experience on the policy side of the education field. For the past two years, Norton has worked as Director of Education Policy at Cambridge-based Abt Associates, to help develop and execute a strategy for the firm’s Education Practice. Previously, she was a Senior Policy Adviser for the state’s Executive Office of Education and Executive Director of the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, a Cambridge-based think tank, having started her career as a classroom teacher.

Norton matriculated at Michigan State University where she earned a BA in Elementary Education and received her Master’s in Education from Harvard. A 16 year Belmont resident, her oldest child attends Belmont’s public school.

Norton told the Belmontonian that her priority is to listen to the constituencies – teachers, students, parents, and administrators – within the districts before she brings proposals before the committee, “and is there any possible connection between our needs and funding and grant opportunities that the governor’s office is considering.” 

Norton said her family’s involvement with the cadre of educators teaching her son as well as her background in the classroom “intensifies my inclination to connect with teachers and support all the good work that they are doing and do whatever I can because that’s where the rubber meets the road.”