Lots of bewildered last-minute gift givers facings Mother’s Day empty handed were thankful to run into a collection of Belmont High School athletes in front of the Belmont Lions Club headquarter at the MBTA commuter rail stop just outside Belmont Center this weekend.
The Friends of Belmont Softball held their annual Mother’s Day flower sale supporting the High School’s varsity and junior varsity softball teams.
Not only is Belmont’s Roger Wellington Elementary School a winner architecturally, the school also proves its great for environmental learning.
Last week, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan honored the Wellington’s “Environmental & Energy Efficiency Initiatives” along with 26 other energy and environmental education programs across the state at the 20th Annual Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education.
“The ideas, research and knowledge being recognized today show the forward-thinking of our youth and how ready they are for the challenges ahead,”said Sullivan.
Winners competed for $5,000 in awards, funded by the Massachusetts Environmental Trust with the intention to fund further environmental education initiatives at the schools. EEA solicited Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education Award nominations in early 2014. Schools and organizations that voluntarily incorporate environmental education into public or private school curricula are eligible.
In February, the Jonathan Levi-designed building won the coveted Harleston Parker Medal signifying the “the most beautiful piece of architecture” in Greater Boston.
Three is the magic number as the 155th annual Belmont Town Meeting will likely finish the non-budgetary section of the annual gathering of the town’s legislative body with a trio of articles representing the diverse subjects of medical marijuana, shoveling snow off of sidewalks and just how many yard sales a resident can hold a year.
And the members could be debating and voting on just two of the articles as the resident who is petitioning to have the four month-old bylaw requiring homeowners to shovel adjacent sidewalks shelved is asking that his article be “tabled” until the anticipated special Town Meeting in the fall.
The 2014 edition of the yearly meeting will resume tonight, Monday, May 12, at at 7 p.m., at Belmont High School’s auditorium.
Members are asked to be in the auditorium before 7 p.m. so the meeting can start on time.
A copy of the warrant which contains the articles can be found here on the Town Clerk’s web page.
Tonight’s meeting will be broadcasted live by the Belmont Media Center.
First up on the agenda will be the petition by Pleasant Street resident Eric Anderson who is seeking to strike from the town’s bylaws the recently-enacted Residential Snow Removal bylaw approved by the November 2013 special Town Meeting and OK’d by the state’s Attorney General in February.
But according to Anderson and Precinct 4’s Joe White who will present the article tonight – Anderson is not a Town Meeting member – after the petition is set before Town Meeting, a motion will be made by White to “table” the measure until a special Town Meeting that is expected this fall.
White told The Belmontonian this past Wednesday, May 7, he and others have spoken to Anderson to delay the article so that Town Counsel George Hall can address a series of questions on liability issues and other concerns of residents being required to shovel what is essentially town-owned property, the sidewalks.
“We can wait [until a special Town Meeting] so we can get a reading on the law,” said White, adding that “it probably won’t snow until [the meeting].”
Also up for debate will be a citizen’s petition from Stephen Ganak of Hurley Street who would like to restrict the number of yard sales to three a year with a requirement to obtain a free permit from the Town Clerk. At last November’s special Town Meeting, it was initially thought that Ganak’s initial sales petition had been passed by the members only to discover that a calculation mistake saw the measure fail by a handful of votes. This time around, Ganak has simplified the wording with a hope that this effort will pass member muster.
Finally, members will vote on the creation of a medical marijuana overlay district. By using restrictions that the state has allowed – such as buffers that force facilities to keep a distance from schools, residential areas – a Belmont marijuana dispensary will be restricted to far off locations. The members will also discuss
If the members do conclude their business tonight, the meeting will be adjourn to meet again for budget items including the town and school budget as well as capital budget expenditures on Monday, June 2 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School Auditorium.
The Belmont High School cafeteria will be transformed into a coffeehouse of old – without the cigarette smoke, of course – as the Belmont High School Working to Help the Homeless club will host its first-ever acoustic coffeehouse on Thursday, May 22 at 7 p.m.
The event is open to public with advanced tickets being sold for $5 at Champions Sporting Goods in Belmont Center.. The ticket price includes the cost of ice cream and other treats once inside.
The performances include:
Each of these exceptionally talented performers auditioned for the chance to showcase their skills at the coffeehouse and is well worth the $5 entrance fee.
All of the proceeds will benefit Mary’s House, a shelter in Waltham for homeless families. The shelter provides temporary housing for these families and gives them access to help around issues such as parenting, nutrition, budgeting, substance abuse, and vocational and educational goals.
On Saturday, April 12, the Belmont High School Belmontian Club – the school‘s Community Service group – and Belmont Car Wash at 521 Trapelo Rd., sponsored the annual spring car wash to benefit Cradles to Crayons, which helps poor and homeless children in Massachusetts.
The club raised $1, 390.60 at this event, and, overall, more than $4,100 for the non-profit in a variety of activities, beginning in February.
Here’s a quick list of yard sales going on in Belmont this weekend.
• 27 Dean St., Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• 29 Jonathan St., Saturday, May 10, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• The Habitat Intergenerational Program is holding its 13th annual herb sale on Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Habitat Visitor Center at 10 Juniper Rd. just off Somerset Street on Belmont Hill. Here’s your chance to purchase parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, oregano, basil, chives, mint, dill, cilantro and lavender along with vegetables and more!
Come early to get the best selection.
Proceeds used to fund HIP projects including the Chenery Middle School courtyard gardens, Habitat butterfly garden, weekly programs for women and children in a homeless shelter, family bird walks, Trails Days and more!
• The Friends of Belmont Softball will be hosting their annual Mother’s Day Flower Sale at the Lions Club at the foot of the MBTA Commuter Rail station just off Common Street on Royal Road in Belmont Center Saturday, May 10, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, May 11, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday is the last night of the annual Belmont Pops concerts. The entertainment, by Belmont High School musicians, will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday. May 10, the the school’s Lunch Room. Sales from tickets benefit POMS, Parents of Music Students.
• The Belmont Gallery of Art Spring 2014 exhibit, “Books on the Charles – 25 years of Charlesbridge Picture Book Illustrators” will be open Saturday, May 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday, May 11 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This special exhibit celebrates 15 New England-area picture book artists who have created art for Charlesbridge Publishing, Watertown’s award-winning children’s book publisher. The Belmont Gallery of Art is located in the Homer Bldg., Town Hall Complex, 19 Moore St., Belmont Center (just off Leonard St., behind Belmont Savings Bank).
The Friends of Belmont Softball will be hosting their annual Mother’s Day Flower Sale at the Lions Club at the foot of the MBTA Commuter Rail station just off Common Street on Royal Road in Belmont Center.
Come by to purchase beautiful flowers and support the Belmont High School Varsity and Junior Varsity Softball teams.
The flowers will be on sale starting today, Friday, May 9 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, May 10 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, May 11, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.