Membership to the Historic Underwood Pool’s Final Season Now on Sale

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It opened only months after both the sinking of the Titanic and the very first opening day at Fenway Park. It survived wars, polio epidemics and years of underfunding.

But finally, Belmont’s 102-year-old Underwood Pool, which some believe is the oldest outdoor municipal pool in the US, is preparing for its final season after voters and Town Meeting approved funding to build a new $5.2 million pool complex on the site to open in June 2015.

This summer will be residents last chance to experience the Underwood Pool of years past with summer memberships for residents and non-residents, children, adults and families now on sale at the Recreation Department’s website. 

The season lasts from June 21 to Sept. 1.

Memberships for residents are $100 for children, $140 for adults and $225 for families.

A membership allows swimming at both Underwood and the Higginbottom pool which is located in the Wenner Field House at Belmont High School. 

The Underwood Pool will open Saturday,  June 21.  The annual ‘summer Blast Off’ at the pool is scheduled for Sunday, June 22 with swimming lessons begin Tuesday, June 24.

‘Top Chef’ Makes Reservation in Belmont Center

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Belmont Center is packed full of lights, cameras and … chefs as the popular Bravo reality cooking show, Top Chef, is filming an episode of its Season 12 at Belmont’s standout restaurant il Casale on Leonard Street today, Tuesday, May 20.

Current Productions, the production company for Bravo, has taken over Leonard Street from Rancatore’s Ice Cream to the Bank of America branch office, narrowing the roadway with trucks and other vehicles as Belmont Police officers directed traffic. The production crew also required Belmont Light to take down the “Belmont Town Day” banner to the displeasure of the Light crew who had spent yesterday repairing it.

Across the street a growing number of fans of the show sat on benches or stood by to see the busy work taking place.

“We love Top Chef!” said Dawn Perry of Gilbert Road who watched the “action” with some of the show’s local groupies.

Periodically, groups of young, hip-looking white-clad contestant cooks are led in and out of the restaurant as darkly-dressed servers along with il Casale’s chef Dante de Magistris – who owns the award-winning eatery with his brothers Damian and Filippo – were being instructed by a production crew member.

Around 11 a.m., the contestants boarded four SUVs and were taken to Belmont Town Hall where the production company rented out rooms for catering.

By 12:30 p.m., the talent showed up as show host Padma Lakshmi (who waved to fans), head judge Tom Colicchio – who had a great write up in this past Sunday New York Times on feeding the poor – and judge Gail Simmons were ushered into the restaurant.

Not that il Casale or Belmont is unfamiliar with the film-making process. Last year, Robert Downey Jr. and his production company filmed on Belmont Hill and a Dane Cook movie was shot in the Center. And il Casale recently hosted Starbuck’s CEO Howard Schultz, it is the favorite restaurant of former governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney and one night the Boston Bruins caused a near riot among a slew of teenage girls when the team held their “break-up” dinner there.  

Top Chef is a competition show on since 2006, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and guest judges such as Anthony Bourdain and Wolfgang Puck with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode. 

It was announced last month that Boston was selected to be the host city for the new season which will broadcast in the fall.

Things to Do Today: Tear-Down Moratorium Meeting, Loving Relationships, Rugby Rumble

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• The Planning Board will hold a community meeting at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School concerning a zoning amendment it is presenting to Town Meeting in June that attempts to address citizen’s concerns raised by the one-year moratorium passed at last year’s Town Meeting that prevents tearing down single-family structures in the general residence sections of town to replace them with multi-family buildings.

• The Belmont High School Club Rugby team will host Boston College High School in the Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization’s Division 1 state championship semi-finals at 7 p.m. at Harris Field on Concord Avenue. If the team is victorious, they will defend their title at Fort Devens on Saturday.

• Examine live caterpillars, see butterfly wings under a microscope and learn which common butterflies are likely to be spotted in Belmont over the summer as Habitat naturalist Barbara Brown will give a free talk about “Caterpillars, Butterflies & Moths” from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. 

• Adult development expert Paul Kampas comes to the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. at 5 p.m. to discuss “Love Relationships Across the Generations: A Community Conversation” presenting an adult development model of healthy love relationships and to co-facilitate a conversation about how younger and older generations may have differing perspectives.

• Pre-School Storytime 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 Belmont Public Library’s Children’s Room is holding Storytime for 2’s and 3’s.  Due to overwhelming popularity, this storytime is offered both at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Bring your little ones for stories, songs, and more. Both programs will take place in the Flett Room, across from the Children’s Room. 

PHOTOS: Amidst a Little Rain, Belmont High Holds Its Promenade

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Things began going wrong on Friday morning, May 16, when the sun was obscured by clouds with the anticipation that the last day of school for graduating seniors at Belmont High School would be a wet one.

And when the clouds opened and the rain did come around 2:30 p.m., it was a harbinger of things to come for those preparing to attend the annual pre-Prom Promenade at Belmont High later that afternoon.

The Promenade, which began in the past decade, allows parents, relatives, siblings and friends to see the congregation of students and guests dressed in tuxes, gowns, dresses and suits, duded up for a night of fun and frivolity at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston.

Wearing a pair of two-tone derby dress shoes to go along with a walking stick and a classic tux, senior JD Niles said he obtained them at “Men’s Wearhouse, of course.”

One young lady – who asked that her “real” name not be used – said the toughest choice was “whether to go long or short” in terms of her dress and not the stock market. She went long for prom.

It also allows the school administration to make sure those attending the prom are able to attend a school event.

Due to traffic causing many of the prom attendees to be delayed, the start of the promenade was pushed back by nearly 15 minutes as the students waited in the wings of the auditorium.

“It’s a little hot in here,” said Olivia Kearns who, along with her date, Brian Cleary, would be the first couple on the stage.

As for the humidity and heat being generated in the hallway, “I’ll get over it. The photos are all done,” said Kearns about photos at home.

“It will all be worth it when we get there,” she said.

But just after the promenade began, the music went “on the fritz” before being righted by a member of the Physical Education Department.

Soon, the couples and groups were being corralled into the school’s cafeteria for a quick overview by staff before being placed on the buses.

But at the appointed 5 p.m. arrival time for the buses to show … nothing. As staff began calling Crystal Transportation, the lunch room resembled a well-dressed steam room with hairdos frizzing out and jackets removed.

Nearly 15 minutes late, the first buses came and the kids got to embark for Boston.

The, as the fourth bus pulled up, the heaven’s opened once again, as some couples did a quick trot to the transport while some of the young men took off their jackets – again – to shield their dates from the rain. Sir Walter Raleigh had nothing on these gentlemen. 

And while most of the students and their guests made it to the Westin by 6:15 p.m, the final group of student, 33 in number, where stranded at Belmont High School until just before 6:45 p.m. for a bus to finally arrive.

When they began arriving back to the school around 11:20 p.m., the majority of prom goers – several young women walking barefoot with their shoes in their hands, many young men sans ties (some without their shirts) – said they had a good time.

Middlesex DA Contributes to Hometown’s After Graduation Party

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Middlesex County District Attorney (and Belmont resident) Marian Ryan came by Belmont High School Friday, May 16, to contribute to funding a substance-free, after-prom and graduation party for seniors.

Belmont and 11 other school districts applied for and received $500 from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office to help defray expenses associated with all-night after-graduation parties, senior picnics and a graduation cruise hosted by these schools.

“We want it to be marked by wonderful celebrations and terrific memories that will last a lifetime, not by a preventable tragedy,” said Ryan. “We support our schools’ efforts to organize substance-free post-prom and graduation events to ensure everyone has a happy and safe time as they celebrate this important milestone and all that they have accomplished.”

And it’s not too late to join Ryan and contribute to the all-night party. Funding for the party comes primarily from donations from junior and senior class families. This funding allows us to keep the ticket price for the party affordable and within reach for every graduating student. 

Please consider donating today by going to the brand new All Night Party website or by sending a check to: All Night Party Committee, 73 Fairmont Street, Belmont MA 02478.

The Week to Come in Belmont: Starbucks Relocation Discussed, Flower Show, Rugby Semis

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• The Zoning Board of Appeals will be holding a public meeting Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art (located in the Homer Municipal Building in the Town Hall complex) to discuss the application to relocate Starbucks Coffee from its present location in Cushing Square to a store front near the intersection of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road. The move, which will last for approximately a year, is necessary due to the construction of the retail, residential and parking development known as Cushing Village.

• The Planning Board will hold a community meeting on Tuesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School concerning a zoning amendment it will present to Town Meeting in June that attempts to address citizen’s concerns revolving around the one-year moratorium on tearing down single-family structures and replacing them with multifamily buildings.

• “A World of Celebrations” comes alive with floral arrangements at the Belmont Garden Club’s Flower Show taking place on Friday May 23, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. Featuring  designs for France’s Bastille Day, China’s New Year, Italy’s Carnival of Venice, the show will also include a horticulture division.

• The Belmont High School Club Rugby team will host Boston College High School in the Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization’s Division 1 state championship semi-finals on Tuesday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at Harris Field on Concord Avenue.

• The Belmont League of Women Voters will be holding a warrant briefing for the budget sessions of Town Meeting on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. An opportunity to get your questions answered before the June sessions of Town Meeting. The budget will be covered, as well as other articles not handled in the May meetings. Co-sponsored by the Warrant Committee and the Belmont League of Women Voters Education Fund.

• The 7th & 8th Grade Chorus and Orchestra Concert will take place on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School’s auditorium.
• Examine live caterpillars, see butterfly wings under a microscope and learn which common butterflies are likely to be spotted in Belmont over the summer as Habitat naturalist Barbara Brown will give a free talk about “Caterpillars, Butterflies & Moths” on Tuesday, May 20 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. 
• In its first combined kindergarten through 12th grade show, the annual Belmont Public Schools Art Show gets underway this week on May 22 and running through June 8 at the Belmont Gallery of Art located on the third floor of the Homer Municipal Building in the Town Hall complex.
• Adult development expert Paul Kampas comes to the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. on Tuesday, May 20 at 5 p.m. to discuss “Love Relationships Across the Generations: A Community Conversation” presenting an adult development model of healthy love relationships and to co-facilitate a conversation about how younger and older generations may have differing perspectives.

AWOL: Late Buses Strand Belmont High Prom Goers In The Rain

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Thirty-three students and guests who paid $120 to attend the Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom at Boston’s Copley Westin on Friday night, May 16, were left literally standing in the rain for nearly one hour and 45 minutes after the 5 p.m. scheduled departure time when buses from Crystal Transportation of Brighton arrived late to transport ticket-holders to the event at the Westin Copley Place Boston Hotel.

“It’s annoying because we’re missing our prom and all our friends are there and we’re stuck here,” said senior Natasha Trotman as concerned staff members, on the phone with the company, waited with the frustrated students.

“I’m a little mad. It’s kind of disappointing waiting around here,” said Solomon Mankin who spent $240 for two tickets. “At least I’m with great people in the rain,” he added, pointing to his friends.

According to press releases and news accounts, the firm was recently forced to stop carrying passengers due to serious safety concerns.

In an April 1 news release, the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) revoked Crystal Transportation’s operating authority and shut-down the carrier for “disregarding federal safety regulations and putting their drivers, passengers, and the motoring public at risk.”

It is not known at this time the process used to select the company.

On Friday afternoon, the bus line did not have carriers ready at the 5 p.m. schedule departure time, reducing the time students had to enjoy their prom.

The final bus arrived at Belmont High School – where the annual Pre-Prom Promenade had taken place – nearly three-quarters of a hour after the penultimate bus had left, which itself was 60 minutes behind schedule.

Belmont High School sophomore Jack Carbeck said while he wanted to be one of the last people to travel to the prom, “everyone paid the same price … I would expect [the company] would have enough buses to get us [to the Westin] on time.”

Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, whose son, senior Liam Cushman, was one of the students on the final bus, said she felt “belittled” as a parent and town official by the actions of the bus company.

“Some action needs to take place by someone,” she added.

Many of the students who were destined to be on the final bus were at the school for nearly three hours, much of the time inside a humid, hot cafeteria after parading before parents and friends during the promenade in the high school’s auditorium.

Due to the lengthy delay, the “surviving” participants would have less than three hours to enjoy the dancing, socializing and dining that was scheduled to end around “10-ish” p.m., according to John Muldoon, Belmont High’s assistant principal, who was informed of the buses location. The final bus reportedly drove past the school before the driver called asking for directions.

Crystal Transportation describes itself on its Facebook page as a “[c]harter Bus business located in Boston, MA. Provide Shuttle services for The University of Boston, Brandeis University as well as many others.”

On March 19, the FMCSA shut the company down after it discovered the shuttles used at UMass Boston were allowed to drive before drug test results of the company’s drivers were completed and a number of the drivers tested positive for controlled substances.

Given a month to respond to the charges, the company did not provide an answer to the feds. In an interview with the Boston Globe in March, Crystal’s General Manager Kevin Sheehan said the carrier fixed the problems but missed the deadline to file its corrective action plan.

There is no information indicating when the bus line was allowed to return to carrying passengers.

A call to Crystal Transportation by the Belmontonian was not returned.

[Your Name Here] Field: Belmont Heads Towards Naming Rights Bylaw

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Ever wonder what your family’s name would look like gracing the entrance to the modern auditorium in a new Belmont High School?

How about your company’s name on the side of a new Science Wing?

Would it really bother you if the basketball court in the Wenner Field House had a local-area bank’s logo splashed across the new floor?

Those dreams could come true to you and just about anyone with deep-enough pockets – well, probably Donald Sterling shouldn’t try – if the town follows through with recommendations to create criteria for the selling of naming rights on school buildings, fields and town property.

At the School Committee’s meeting on Tuesday, May 13, Belmont School Committee’s Anne Lougee reviewed the conclusions of a report issued by a committee made up of veteran school supporters as well as Town Administrator David Kale and Belmont Savings Bank’s CEO Robert Mahoney on finding additional revenue sources for the chronically cash-short Belmont School District.

“We concluded that this is a viable option to generate revenue,” said Lougee.

In addition to supporting of using freelance development professionals who would receive a percentage of any funding they obtain, the committee endorsed the creation and approval by Town Meeting of a “naming rights bylaw” that would allow the school committee and town to create guidelines on placing individuals, families and companies names or logos on a wide array of buildings and signs.

One area that has sparked considerable interest, according to Lougee, are the court in the Wenner Field House and the playing surface at Harris Field where Belmont High School football, soccer and lacrosse are played.

The soonest a bylaw could be before Town Meeting is the anticipated Special meeting occurring late this fall.

While new to Belmont, naming buildings, playing fields, individual room and even placing ads on school buses has been gaining traction in school districts across the country from a regional school in Oregon that just established their policy to Tupelo, Mississippi’s where a bank is paying $140,000 to have its name on the high school’s blue-tinted football field for the next decade. There are even marketing firms that will find corporate sponsorship deals for schools.

The bylaw would also establish clearer standards on business and corporate advertising at both indoor and outside athletic venues, either by banners or from a LCD-display screen.

Lougee said while limited, the district already has some experience with corporate sponsorship inside several schools.

“Each year the Scholastic Publishing holds book fairs as fundraisers for several schools,” she noted.

Potentially the biggest draw for potential donors will be with the construction or renovation of a new Belmont High School. Naming rights could be offered on a one-time basis for several sections including the new science wing, computer labs, the  auditorium, libraries, music and art rooms, cafeteria and especially a new gym.

Lougee told the School Committee that several issues must be addressed before the bylaw is considered including if it would be appropriate to the district’s mission, would it be irrevocable, how long would the naming rights last and should all people and corporations be “vetted” before they lend their names to a sign or banner.

But Lougee said while naming rights is not the “$100,000 idea” that will help resolve the revenue issues, “we can expect to generate x amount of dollars.”

But she also noted that while Wellesley – with a similar geographic and town government structure as Belmont – has adopted a bylaw last year, they have yet to receive any proposals for signage or advertising.

 

 

 

 

 

Making Their Own Gold Star: High School Senior Volunteers Honored

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At some point during the annual presentation of the President’s Volunteer Service Awards to Belmont High School seniors, there is a moment where Alice Melnikoff will get a little, let’s say, “verklempt.”

Melnikoff told the students, parents and educators in the audience at the Chenery Middle School during the ceremony held Tuesday, May 13, of her favorite quote from Winston Churchill: “We make a living of what we get; but we make a life by what we give.”

“This is it,” said Melnikoff of when she would have to pause for a moment, as she looked towards the 12th graders sitting in the first two rows of the auditorium, each who gave more than 100 volunteer hours in the past 12 months.

“You have already demonstrated that you are building a life that is rich and fulfilling in part because of service to which you were committed,” said Melnikoff.

And no one would begrudge Melnikoff a time to feel a bit emotional towards those she mentored during the past four years in giving of themselves to the benefit of others. And while the students will be receiving a certificate and pin as well as a letter bearing the signature of President Obama, the time spent improving the society in which they live will be their lasting memorial, said Melnikoff.

 

While the term community was used throughout the ceremony, Belmont School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston also spoke of the word “philanthropy” which is mostly used describing money given to others. But its root meaning is “love of humankind.”

“The richest form of philanthropy doesn’t come from the money that you give … but from the service you give one another; the care that we use to support each other,” said Kingston.

Speaking for the recipients, Amy Zhang, a co-president of the Belmontian Club, said, “Service is as self-serving as it is wonderful, as you undoubtedly gain something, an equal reaction whether you are volunteering with kids or raising money for cancer.”

“Community service can not be quantified nor can its effects be measured and analyzed. It can not be logged in hours or dollars, it doesn’t always come with a happy ending. To me, community service is about … acting to set the world in a positive direction,” said the 18 year old graduating senior who will be matriculating this fall at Harvard College.

The award winners included:

Bronze award (100 to 174 hours)

  • Victoria Beecroft; Founding mother of the Water Drop Club which supports an orphanage in Madagascar where she also volunteered.
  • Emily Burke; Wellington Aftercare
  • Joseph Thiel; Benton Library
  • Cindy and Jason Yu; research in cell biology and cancer

Silver award (175 to 249 hours)

  • Raina Crawford; orienteering group and the high school library.
  • Juliette and Sarah Dankens; the other founding mothers of the Water Drop Club who both volunteered at the orphanage in Madagascar.
  • Arden Fereshetian; Working in the lab, on a website and research at a cancer research institute.
  • Virginia Hardy; Community-based work in Nicaragua.
  • Sam Kerans; Coaching basketball and tutoring.
  • Amiee Lin; Working with children from broken homes in Taiwan.
  • Andrew Logan; Trail work for the Appalachian Mountain Club and at Belmont’s Habitat.
  • Lucy Martirosyan; Belmont Acres farm.
  • Tyler Papciak; The Bristol Lodge soup kitchen.
  • Sarah Ramsey; Coaching basketball and cancer fundraising.
  • Justin Rogers: Belmont Acres farm.
  • Peter Staub: Red Cross Food Pantry.
  • Andrew Strawbridge: Worked on a gubernatorial campaign.

Gold award (more than 250 hours) 

  • Talin Tahajian: Non-profit literary journal.
  • Haruka Uchida; Research in a psychology lab.
  • Rowan Wu; Samariteens.

These six seniors have earned presidential awards each of the four years they attended Belmont High School:

  • Anna Hillel; a bronze this year for working in Birmingham, Alabama painting houses.
  • Keith Burns; gold, Cardiovascular research.
  • Gabe Faber; gold, Making soccer available to young people in Boston.
  • Tess Smichenko; gold, Working with children and adults with special needs in Belmont, Vermont and Guatemala.
  • David Sullivan; gold, Working on immigration issues in US Sen. Warren’s office.
  • Amy Zhang; gold, on several service issues including Wellington Aftercare and fundraising to fight breast cancer.

What to Do Today: Pre-Prom Promenade, Brownsberger at the Beech,

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• What is the closest thing to a red carpet event we have in Belmont each year begins just after 4 p.m. when the annual Pre-Prom Promenade takes place at Belmont High School. Those attending this year’s Belmont High School Senior/Junior Prom will be “presented” to parents, siblings, friends and the public in the Belmont High School auditorium and as they board the buses to take them for a night of dancing and fun. Get there early; the place fills up fast.

• Today is also the final day of school for graduating Belmont High Schools seniors, for many, completing 13 years in the district. 

• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will be meeting one-on-one with constituents at 10 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• Local musician Liz Buchanan performs original songs and traditional favorites for the toddler set at 10:30 a.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• No sports at Belmont High today; see above.