Belmont Police Seek Publics Help In Home Invasion On Stults Road

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Photo: The crime happened on this street.

The Belmont Police is actively investigating a home invasion that occurred on Sunday night on Stults Road.

According to Police Chief James MacIsaac, at approximately 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 15, Belmont Police patrol officers responded to a home invasion on Stults Road. Two men wearing dark clothing and masks knocked on the homeowner’s door. When they answered, the pair called him by name and forced their way into the residence.

Once inside, the two men were able to obtain cash and jewelry. The suspects then fled the residence.

Detectives are asking residents who may have observed any unusual activity in the area of Stults Road, either last night or at any time in the past, to call 617-993-2550. Detectives are also asking that if residents in the area have doorbell or driveway video to contact detectives if your cameras captured any unusual activity.

The Belmont Police believe this is an isolated incident and there is no threat to the public at this time.

Playgrounds Now Off Limits As Belmont, State Shuts Down Public Gatherings

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Photo: PQ Parks Playground is now

Playgrounds – but not parks – throughout Belmont are the latest areas to be officially closed by the Belmont Health Department in an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the latest public health update issued Monday, March 16, Health Department Director Wesley Chin focused on actions taken by the state and his office over the weekend and today.

On Sunday, March 15, Gov. Charlie Baker announced additional measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The Governor’s Order includes the following restrictions throughout the Commonwealth that will go into effect on March 17.

  • All public and private schools will be closed through April 6.
  • All restaurants and bars will be prohibited from the on-premise consumption of food.  However, restaurants may remain open for now to provide food through take-out or delivery service.  These restrictions extend through April 17 but may be extended based on the spread of COVID-19.
  • Gatherings of 25 or more people are also banned. This includes all community, civic, public, leisure, and faith-based events. It also applies to gyms, private clubs, and theatres.

Chin announced that Belmont is taking additional precautions and instituting the following actions that will be effective on March 16: 

  • All Town of Belmont public playgrounds (specifically playground equipment) are closed.  At this time, open spaces such as fields remain open. However, the Belmont Board of Health and its staff ask all residents to engage in the social distancing practices detailed below.
  • Field use permits are suspended to discourage social gatherings. We are strongly discouraging activities that promote the gathering of people.
  • Public meetings and hearings will be limited to those that are considered necessary for the purposes of maintaining essential Town of Belmont government functions and that are mandated under federal, state, or local law/regulation.
  • Town Hall Offices are closed to the public. At this time access to these facilities will be limited to staff only.  Residents in need of assistance are encouraged to contact respective Town departments by phone and/or email www.belmont-ma.gov.
  • Important updates about COVID-19 and its impact on the Town will be posted at www.belmont-ma.gov .

The Belmont Board of Health and its staff ask all residents to immediately and seriously engage in the practice of social distancing. Social distancing means staying out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining a distance of 6 feet (minimum) or at least an arm’s length away from others when possible.

This means:

  • NO small gatherings (even though the state has capped gatherings at 25 people).
  • NO playdates (for individuals of any age).
  • NO sharing of childcare responsibilities with other families, unless you have been deemed an essential worker (i.e. Police, Fire, EMS, medical professional).
    • Essential workers should make every attempt to stagger their schedules with partners to allow for coverage of childcare.

Chin is advising residents to:

  • Stay home.
  • Minimize the number of trips you take to the store for food and medicine.
  • Avoid close contact with people who do not live with you.
  • Show compassion for your neighbors.
    • Make a plan with your elderly neighbors to check in with them on a daily basis via phone or email to help monitor their health and to see if you can help them obtain any food, prescriptions, or other basic needs.

Help save lives:

  • It is important that we all take social isolation seriously to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The transmission of this virus grows exponentially and will soon overtake our healthcare system. We must all work together for the common good of society. This is our chance to come together as a community to stem the spread of this virus. If we are all successful at social distancing, we will slow the spread of COVID-19, and this will give our healthcare providers and hospitals a chance to prepare to be able to treat people who may need scarce medical resources to survive the pandemic.  

Easy As 3.14159 … etc, etc

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Photo: Making Archimedes proud (Donna Ruvolo photos)

What occurred on the newly constructed walking path at the Grove Street Playground on Saturday morning is what happens during a pandemic when smart citizens have a lot of time on their hands.

Using chalk and a great memory, some residents set forth to notate on the walk the calculation for the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, or as it’s better known, “π” (that would be “pi” for those unfamiliar with Greek graphemes.)

Here’s all that’s known about pi.

It becomes clear why March 14 was selected by writing out the date as numbers: 3/14, the first three numbers of pi.

While most people will know pi to at least five digits – 3.1415 – of this mathematical constant (why go further?), the Grove Street folks decided to start writing … and writing … and writing the sequence of number in the calculation until, in an Shel Silverstein-esque conclusion, the sidewalk came to the end at the curve.

The impressive writing out of this list of rational numbers was accompanied by notations such as “Happy π-day” and “easy as π“. There is one hint of who the author(s) could be from a proud boast written along side Archimedes’ constant:

“all memorized by my 11yr old girl!

Smart, indeed.

Editor’s Note: Credit where credit is due: To Precinct 7’s own Donna Ruvolo for sending these photos along.

Belmont Hockey Sees Epic Playoff Run End As State Finals Cancelled, Named Co-Champs

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Photo: Belmont High Head Ice Hockey Coach Fred Allard

In the locker room after a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over St. John’s (Shrewsbury) in the Division 1 North finals last Monday, Belmont High Head Coach Fred Allard ended his postgame talk to the players proclaiming “Practice tomorrow at 3!”

“What that meant was our season is still going on and we still get to be together,” Allard said in an empty White Field House on Thursday afternoon, March 12, with the North trophy and title banner on a nearby table.

It also signified the team had punched its ticket to the TD Garden this Sunday to play for the program’s first ever state championship title.

But the the season-long goal of just having the opportunity of skating to the Belmont student section with a state championship trophy in hand would end with an email.

Two hour previous, after hard practice at the “Skip”, the starkness of the outside world entered the hockey sphere when, due to the growing threat of a global pandemic, the MIAA announced it had cancelled the Division 1 state finals against Walpole.

The consolation for the Marauders was being declared co-champions with the Rebels. But it wasn’t much solace for the Belmont players to share a title that they couldn’t play for.

“We had just gotten off the ice so everyone was in the room,” said Allard. The squad’s reaction to the announcement was heartbreaking.

“These guys were more crushed than past teams who lost to St. John’s Prep four years ago and to Waltham (losing in overtime in the North semifinals in 2018). And they were just announced as co champs of the state!” said Allard. “That’s how all in they were because it’s such a special experience.”

“It was emotional and they were devastated. We talked our way through it. We shared some memories, we reminisced on what we accomplished and hopefully the healing process of the initial pain is starting to wear off.”

As late as Thursday morning, Allard still believed the team would be on a bus Sunday heading to the Garden in Boston’s North End.

“I was thinking we got practice on Friday and Saturday and hopefully the dust will settle and we’ll get this [game] in,” he said.

On Tuesday, the powers that be were hell bent on playing the six state finals on Sunday, but all that changed Wednesday when the Coronavirus was accelerating through all segments of society including sports. In just a day, professional sports leagues announced the cancellation or suspension of their seasons.

“That’s when the [MIAA] were obviously becoming more concerned for the safety of the kids, which was the right thing,” said Allard.

By early Thursday afternoon, the NCAA cancelled their winter championships including the entire “March Madness” basketball tournament, the Boston Marathon was looking for an autumn date to the run the race and states were prohibiting large gatherings.

“Our hope was that the worse case would be playing the finals at [six] separate sites and not just at the Garden,” Allard said.

“The kids worked so hard to get to this point. They just wanted to play.”

Belmont Boys’ Hoops ‘Big Three’ Bring Marauders Back To North Final With Win Over Latin Academy

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Photo: Belmont’s Preston Jackson-Stephens driving to the basket.

The Boston Celtics had the “Big Three” – Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen – who took the team to the NBA championship in 2008.

And during Belmont High Boys’ Basketball return to the Division 2 North Finals, its had found its own “Big Three” to carry the load.

Senior guard Mac Annus and junior forwards Tim Minicozzi and Preston Jackson-Stephens have asserted their prowess in the three tournament games not just in each scoring an average of 20-plus points per game but with on-court leadership and a coolness under pressure.

And it was never more in evidence on Wednesday, March 4 in Wakefield High’s oldie-style gym where the trio accepted the challenge from a smart and quick Boston Latin Academy squad to display the grit and guts to slay the Dragons, 72-64, in an all-you-would-hope-for North semifinal.

Belmont returns to the Tsongus Arena in Lowell on Saturday, March 7, to defend its North title in an encounter with top seed Beverly – the Panthers were the 1 seed last season. Tip off is at 4:15 p.m.

The three’s dominance showed as they combined for 66 of Belmont’s 72 points vs Latin Academy with Jackson-Stephens with 26, Minicozzi 23 and Annus throwing in 17.

“They’ve been doing that all year,” said Adam Pritchard, Belmont’s long time head coach. “There are not a lot of coaches that are blessed with three guys who are scoring for that average. It’s because they are really focused players who shot a lot but most of all they are great kids.”

Annus – who was recently named the MVP of the Middlesex League – Minicozzi and Jackson-Stephens found it difficult which of the three to defend as each has the ability to drive inside, find the assist or bury an NBA-length three point shots. Pick your poison.

The opening quarter was all Dragons, using its speed – slashing to the hoop, creating steals and winning the majority of the 50/50 ball all night long – and outside shooting to nearly run Belmont off the court and out of the game early as Latin Academy’s all-everything guard Abdulahi Aden hit for three 3s in the quarter.

The second saw the track meet ended as both teams took the game inside the paint with Belmont creeping back into the game as Minicozzi and Jackson-Stephens hit 3s to end the half down with Belmont down 33-29.

The Marauders started the third continuing to connect from long distance as Annus and Minicotti hit three consecutive 3s to put Belmont in the lead for the first time, 38-37. Slowly the Marauders advantage grew as Latin Academy shots were off the mark. An Annus 3 with a little more than a minute remaining gave Belmont its biggest lead at 49-40, before ending the quarter outscoring Latin Academy 20 to 10 in the third to take a 49-43 into the final eight minutes.

The fourth quarter saw Latin Academy come off the mat with Aden’s 11 points in the quarter leading the way. Jackson Stephens would make one of two free throws before driving for a layup to give Belmont a small three point cushion only to see Latin Academy march back to cut the lead to 63-62 when Belmont fouled on the shot near the basket.

With the ball in their hands and less than a minute to play, Latin Academy blinked, as they missed both free throws with 56.1 seconds left giving Belmont the rock and a one point lead.

On the subsequent trip down court, Minicozzi drove the baseline and was chopped down to put the junior on the charity stripe. Then, in frustration rather than anger, a Latin Academy player punched the loose ball toward the benches. The official had little option but to call a technical foul.

Annus hit the two technical free throws, Minicozzi sank his pair and Belmont retained possession. A quick foul sent Jackson-Stephens to the line who hit one of two and the damage had been done as a one point lead stretched to six in just a handful of seconds.

There was a reprieve for Latin Academy when Belmont was called for its own technical for taunting and narrowed the margin to a two possession game but a rushed shot and a foul proved the margin of victory.

Pritchard told the media gaggle surrounding him after the contest that having core players who have been this far into the tournament before is a clear advantage.

“Experience is not to be overlooked in terms of confidence. But you know that confidence is hard work, it’s determination and it’s self belief and they believe in themselves and believe in their teammates.”

As for the matchup against Beverly, Pritchard was succinct.

“They’re very good,” said Pritchard. “We’re pretty good, too.”

School Precaution: Staffer Who Self-Quarantined Back To Work, Trips Cancelled, And Disinfecting Schools

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Photo: Belmont Public School Administration Building.

The byword for the Belmont School District on the expanding coronavirus epidemic is caution.

A female staffer who self-quarantined on Wednesday after returning from a conference in Italy over February break will return to work on Monday, March 9, according to an email from the Belmont School District.

Italy has by far the most cases of the coronavirus in Europe with nearly 4,000 cases and 148 deaths as of Friday, March 6.

Belmont School District Superintendent John Phelan said the staff member, who works at the Chenery Middle School and Belmont High School, placed herself in seclusion on March 4 after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its guidance that day asking people to self-quarantine if they have travelled to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea.

“Once the CDC guidance was updated Wednesday, the staff member who had travelled to Italy self-quarantined, despite the fact there are no symptoms of illness showing,” said Phelan.

“Given this staff member’s return from Italy was on Sunday, February 23, the staff member will return to work on Monday, March 9, as this will represent the expiration of the two week quarantine period,” noted Phelan.

Belmont is just one of several eastern Massachusetts school districts in which educators and staffers have self-quarantined, including Watertown and Beverly.

Belmont High School students were informed this past week that planned school trips during the April break to Spain and China have been cancelled due to the virus. Spain has about 260 cases and 3 deaths while China has been the epicenter of the virus with nearly 81,000 with the virus and 3,045 deaths.

As Belmont schools are where the largest concentration of people congregate during the work week, the district have begun disinfecting and sanitizing high-touch surfaces in the district’s six schools with hospital-grade equipment.

“As you know this is the season for the common flu and our efforts will help reduce the spread of a number of problematic pathogens,” said Phelan.

Earlier this week, Belmont Health Director Wesley Chin said there was a low risk of Belmont residents catching the virus.

Belmont Boys’ Hockey Take Down Top Seed Reading, 3-2; Off To D1 North Finals Monday

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Photo: Belmont’s senior goaltender Nico Carere.

Belmont High School Boys’ Hockey Head Coach Fred Allard said after Saturday’s 1-0 overtime quarterfinal victory over St. Mary’s of Lynn, that his team was eager to get back to the Division 1 North semifinals at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell.

“We have some unfinished business and we’re looking forward to taking care of it,” said Allard, referring to a 3-2 overtime loss to Waltham in the 2018 North Semis as the Hawks went on to capture the Division 1 state crown.

Mission accomplished.

In a game that saw four goals in a bonkers final four and a quarter minutes of the match, Belmont hung on to defeat the number one seed and Middlesex League rivals Reading Memorial High, 3-2, at Lowell.

Belmont will meet St. John’s of Shrewsbury in the sectional finals on Monday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tsongas Arena.

What appeared to be an insurance goal by sophomore forward Matty Rowen with 1:19 remaining in the third period, giving Belmont a 3-1 lead, proved to be the game winner as Reading’s senior defender Cam Lawhorne rocketed a slap shot from the slot by Belmont’s stellar senior goalie Nico Carere with just under a minute to play to cut the lead to 3-2.

Rowen solo effort – nudging the puck five hole by Reading’s goalie Dylan Emery – came after junior defender Henry Stonehouse’s slap shot off an Emery long rebound snuck inside the right post to snap a 1-1 tie with 2:44 in the period.

Reading had evened the contest when freshman forward Evan Pennucci – who a minute earlier hit the post – redirected a shot by Carere with 4:15 left in the third. Belmont’s senior netminder had until then been unstoppable between the pipes, going nearly 90 minutes of shutout hockey since last being scored upon by Andover in the first round of the tournament.

And it was Carere who preserved the victory with two rapid fire, in close saves in the final eight seconds, ending sprawled on his back with his pads covering the puck as the siren sound.

The semifinal was a physical, slow moving affair between teams that were all too familiar with the other having battled twice this season with the Marauders coming up on the losing end of a pair of one-goal games.

After a cautious first period with far more icing calls than actual scoring opportunities – an apparent Reading goal was disallowed for a high stick – Belmont began using the larger NHL-sized rink to its advantage to take control of the game by using its better team speed to open space and create passing lanes.

While the offense found a rhythm, the defensive pairings led by junior Tom Grace, senior Ryan Hoffman, Stonehouse, junior Nolan Duffy and senior Mike Hardy stood tall on the blue line and was able to win most of the battles along the boards and behind the net. The back line was presented by Allard with the “Jax,” a firefighter’s helmet that signifies Belmont’s Player(s) of the Match.

Belmont got on the scorer’s sheet during the only penalty of the game – the second game the Marauders have not been called for an infraction – when Reading went down a man on a Pennucci cross check.

And the goal was right out of the playbook: Grace found senior all-star Justin Rocha as he circled behind the net. As the Reading players turned to face Rocha, senior Matt Brody drifted into the slot and one-timed his line-mate’s pass by Emery high glove side with 1:14 left in the second.

Belmont continued to dominate the majority of the third before Pennucci’s tally started the goal barrage.

Belmont Boys’ Hoops Take On Latin Academy in Semis Wednesday At Wakefield

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Photo: Belmont’s Preston Jackson-Stephens taking the shot vs. Billerica

The easy part is over.

After a pair of comprehensive playoff victories in the comforting confines of Wenner Field House, the Belmont High Boys’ Basketball squad will board the bus and head off to neutral site Wakefield High School to meet up with a challenger which has the ability to score in bunches and do so quickly.

The third seed Marauders (18-4) will take on second seed Boston Latin Academy (21-4) in the semi-finals of the Division 2 North sectionals on Wednesday, March 4. Tip off is at 7 p.m.

“They’re obviously a good team having made it this far,” said Belmont Head Coach Adam Pritchard after Belmont ran a good Billerica squad off the Coach Lyons court, 76-57, in the quarterfinals last Wednesday.

Academy is one of the smaller teams Belmont will play, but what they lack in height they make up in speed and outside shooting, usually scoring double the number of 3s their opponents will attempt.

The Dragons are led by 6th man Junior Guard Abdulahi Aden who scored 21 points while grabbing 5 rebounds and giving out 6 assists in its quarterfinal match with Gloucester.

Belmont is captained by Middlesex Liberty MVP senior Mac Annus who is averaging 23.5 points in the playoffs. He is joined by juniors Preston Jackson-Stephens and Tim Minicozzi who are contributing on both ends of the court.

Warren Finds Love In Belmont, Winning Dem Presidential Primary

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Photo: credit Lorie Shaull (Creative Commons)

It was a rough Super Tuesday for Elizabeth Warren, as the Massachusetts senator saw her chances to become the Democratic standard bearer for President of the United States take a serious blow as she finished back in the pack in each of the 14 states up for grabs including in her home Bay State which was won by a surging Joe Biden.

But Warren would be able to savor the taste of victory at least once Tuesday; over in the Town of Homes as the Cambridge resident racked up nearly a third of all votes cast by Belmont voters in the state’s Presidential Primary held March 3.

The final tally in the Democratic primary from Belmont’s eight precincts:

  • Liz Warren: 2,856 (32.2 percent)
  • Joe Biden: 2,681 (30.2 percent)
  • Bernie Sanders: 1,805 (20.4 percent)
  • Mike Bloomberg: 1,043 (11.8 percent)
  • Pete Buttigieg: 239 (2.7 percent)
  • Amy Klobuchar: 108 (1.2 percent)
  • Tulsi Gabbard: 59 (0.7 percent)
  • Andrew Yang: 19 (0.2 percent)
  • Tom Steyer: 16 (0.2 percent)

See Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman announce the results of the 2020 presidential primary.

And there is good evidence that the suspension of Buttigieg and Klobuchar’s campaigns and their endorsements of Biden over the weekend impacted the outcome of the race. In the week of early voting when 1,571 (about 9 percent of all voters) cast ballots, Biden registered just nine percent of the early votes (130 votes), compared to Warren’s 35.4 percent (509 votes) and behind Sanders, Bloomberg and Buttigieg.

Overall voter participation was impressive with 55 percent of registered voters – 9,622 our of 17,633 – going to the polls, participated in early voting or taking out an absentee ballot. In 2016, 9,969 voters (58 percent) came out with two contested races while in 2008, 63 percent of registered voters participated.

Belmont was an outlier among Bay State municipalities as it was one of 14 cities and towns voting for Warren as Biden won the state after trailing badly in polls just a week previously.

With 89 percent of the state’s precinct reporting as of 1 a.m., Wednesday, March 4, Biden has received 33.8 percent of the total vote with Vt. Senator Bernie Sanders at 26.7 percent with Warren down at 20.9 percent.

Over on the Republican side of the ballot, President Trump took home 587 votes with former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld receiving 105.

O’Donovan, Gray Spark Belmont Girls’ Hockey To State QF With Shutout Over Waltham

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Photo: Emma O’Donovan scoring her first goal vs Waltham.

It’s been the script Belmont High School Girls’ Hockey has been using the entire 2019-2020 season: Junior Emma O’Donovan scores, First Year Bridget Gray saves.

And Belmont didn’t deviate from its successful formula as O’Donovan’s brace was all the Marauders needed as Gray came up with a 31 save 2-0 shutout victory over Waltham High School in the Sweet 16 of the State Girls’ Division 1 tournament on Monday, March 2, at the Ryan Rink in Watertown.

“We knew this was going to be a big game,” said Belmont Head Coach Ken Murphy, having played the Hawks earlier in the season that ended in a 1-0 victory.

“It just went our way tonight. Our goalie really stepped up and made some terrific saves,” said Murphy.

Next up for Belmont is the highest remaining seed in the tournament as the 7th seed Marauders take on two-seed Austin Prep on Saturday, March 7 at noon at Woburn.

It turned out to be an afternoon for recording landmarks as O’Donovan knotted her 30th goal and 40th point for the season while 9th grader Gray racked up her 10th shutout in 22 games with a gaudy 1.38 goal against average.

“It was a big team effort. We came out pretty slow as we had a lot of nerves in the locker room but we managed to pull it together in the end,” said O’Donovan.

From the puck drop the game pitted teams’ mirror images with similar breakout transition styles with great goaltending on both ends anchoring the defense.

Belmont took advantage of the game’s first power play when O’Donovan took a pass from Senior Meaghan Noone and between a pair of Waltham defenders snapped her favorite wrist shot by Waltham’s senior goalie Caitlyn Burke’s blocker to break the deadlock with 9:35 remaining in the second.

Enter Gray who stoned Waltham the rest of the way making 13 of her 31 saves in the third.

“It was definitely stressful in the third,” said Gray, making stellar saves off a pair of Waltham power plays early in the final stanza. “But in the moment, you’re really not thinking about it, you just think ‘how can I save the puck the best you can’.”

Gray and Murphy both acknowledged the steady work from the defensive led by the speedy Noone who skated down Waltham’s wingers and led the transition.

“I’m never nervous when she’s out there,” Murphy said about Noone.

Seniors Maggie O’Connor and Jenna Crowley along with junior Del Bonnin prevented the Hawks from setting up in the slot or cross the blue line unchallenged.

“I can’t tell how many blocked shots they had. They help me out so much,” said Gray.

With 30 second remaining, as junior Kendall Whalen dumped the puck towards Burke, O’Donovan reached out and tipped the puck by Burke to seal the win.

Both Murphy and the players acknowledge that Saturday’s match up against Austin Prep will be a testing contest.

“They’re very good but I think we have the heart to really give them a game and hopefully get the win,” said Gray.