Belmont Girls’ Hoops Streak Into Playoffs; Revenge Loss To SpyPonders For 11th Win

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Photo: Belmont’s Sarah Dullaghan with the layup against Reading, part of the five game winning streak the Marauders continued with its win over Arlington.

You could hear the laughter and cheering of the Belmont High Girls’ Basketball team as the bus entered the high school parking lot Friday night, Feb. 7.

And why not? The Marauders, which punched its ticket into the Div. 2 North Sectional tournament earlier in the week with its away victory over Wakefield, arrived back from a statement victory over playoff bound Arlington, 58-43, securing its 11th win and fifth in a row.

“We played the best half of the season,” said junior guard Kiki Christofori getting off the bus after avenging a four point loss in January to the SpyPonders.

The win puts Belmont (11-5) securely in second place in the Middlesex Liberty, a game clear of Lexington and Arlington, with two games remaining in the regular season.

Entering the second half a point down to the SpyPonders, 28-27, Belmont’s Head Coach Melissa Hart decided to up the defensive pressure on Arlington’s big scoring threats, juniors Claire Ewen and Ava Connolly by inserting a pair of youngsters in the line up; sophomore Meredith Christo and first year Sophie McDevitt.

And despite the efforts by Arlington to get their scorers the ball, “those two just really did a great job,” said Hart, also pointing to the effort by another sophomore Sarah Dullaghan, Christofori and junior Abby Morin as Ewen and Connolly finished the half with just 9 points.

On the other end of the court, sophomore Nina Minicozzi equaled her first half total of 7 points in the third alone before leading the Marauder charge in the fourth with nine for 23 points for the game as Belmont doubled up the SpyPonders 31-15 in the half.

Junior Reese Shapazian, who threw in three 3s in the second quarter to keep the Marauders close, finished with 10 while Christofori finished with eight as did McDevitt.

“We are playing our best at the right time,” said Hart, acknowledging that the team finishes up with home games against Burlington (12-5) and Woburn (15-1, ranked 14th in the Boston Globe Top 20) which beat Belmont by 11 earlier in the season.

“Burlington is very good and have three kids that are just long athletes so it’s gonna be a struggle,” said Hart.

Popular Lime Bike Dumps Belmont To Pursue The Coolness Of Scooters

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Photo: A Lime bike, now part of history.

Lime, the popular bike sharing concept that won a growing number of local converts, has decided that cycles are just not as cool as e-scooters and will not bring back the green colored bicycles to Belmont sidewalks in the spring.

The bad news was confirmed by a forlorn Select Board on Monday, Feb. 3.

Belmont’s partnership with Lime came through the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, a regional planning agency that negotiated a contract with Lime and more than a dozen municipalities. Since that agreement recently ended, “there is no option for a bike share program in Belmont,” said Patrice Garvin, Belmont’s Town Administrator.

“That’s a real shame,” said Board Chair Tom Caputo, as Garvin said ridership was growing each month it was in town.

The reason San Francisco-based Neutron Holdings – Lime’s parent company – is reducing its dockless bike-sharing offering is due to a shift in its business model in which the firm will focus on electric scooters which have proven to be popular in major cities and university towns.

In locations such as Washington DC to San Diego, Paris and Berkeley, e-scooters have become a convenient and cheap option for short trips. Scattered through out those cities, tourists and residents eagerly hopping on machines as they are easy and fun to use.

Garvin said she has not heard from Lime if it would approach the town with an option to locate e-scooters in town. “Would the town have to pay into that … or if docking stations will be required a whole level of complexity,” said Garvin.

“And we never agreed to do the scooters,” said the Select Board’s Adam Dash.

The Board’s Roy Epstein asked Garvin if it was possible if there was any interest by Bluebikes Bikes Share to expand into Belmont. A non-profit operated by the City of Boston and sponsored by Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Bluebikes has more than 2,200 bikes using 210 docking stations throughout Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Somerville. Unlike Lime, Bluebikes are required to eventually be returned to a docking facility.

Garvin said issues to bring Bluebikes to Belmont would include if a fee was required, where the docking stations would be located and if the town would need to find a sponsor.

Town Celebrates League Of Women Voters During Suffrage Centennial

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Photo: Honoring the League of Women Voters of Belmont: (from left) Ann Goldberg, Select Board’s Adam Dash, Amy Grossman, Penny Schafer, Select Board’s Roy Epstein, Board Chair Tom Caputo, Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, Maryann Scali and Pat Hawkins.

Maryann Scali first voted for president in 1956 when she pulled the lever for President Eisenhower.

“I liked Ike,” said the life long Belmont resident, who rarely missed the chance to cast a ballot. Years later, Scali and a dedicated group of women have been on the forefront of promoting access to the polls.

During the centennial year of women suffrage, the town celebrates the 86th anniversary of the founding of the Belmont League of Women Voters with a proclamation from the Select Board on Monday, Feb. 3.

The league’s purpose is “Making Democracy Work” by providing informational statements, sponsoring debates, publishes an annual voters guide for town elections, and generating interest in the political process.

Obituary: Clayton Christensen, The Disruptive Guru, Dies At 67

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Photo: Clay Christensen

Clayton Christensen, long-time Fletcher Road resident and Kim. B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School who wrote the pioneering book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” died last Thursday, Jan. 23 in a Boston hospital.

Christensen, who had been in poor health for more than a decade, died of complications of leukemia, according to Nitin Nohria, dean of the Harvard Business School. He was 67.

“Our family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received over the past few days,” the family said in a statement. “We are humbled by how many lives he has touched. Clayton felt his life would be measured by the individuals he helped and the ways in which he could serve those around him.”

Read Christensen’s obituaries here:

A towering figure in business and life (he stood 6′ 8″), Christensen is known for his 1997 book “The Innovator’s Dilemma” which “The Economist” magazine called “one of the six most important business books ever written.”

The book demonstrates how successful companies can do everything “right” and still lose their market leadership – or even fail – as new, unexpected competitors rise and take over the market. The book hit a chord with many young innovators and took off after the CEO of Intel Andy Grove told an industry conference that “The Innovator’s Dilemma” was “the most important book I had read in 10 years.”

Christensen was born in Salt Lake City and graduated from Brigham Young University after serving two years as a missionary in Korea. After marrying his wife, Christine, he attended Harvard Business School graduating with an MBA in 1979. He joined Boston Consulting Group and later founded a company with several MIT professors.

Just after joining the ranks of academia as a professor at his alma mater Harvard Business, the Christensens bought their house in 1994 on Belmont Hill, expanding the structure 10 years later.

He also dabbled in local matters when in 2012, Christensen promoted the use of internet learning for Belmont High School students in an effort to flatten the expense curve of Belmont’s education costs. 

A person of strong faith, Christensen was active in his local LDS ward, serving as a bishop and as a past member of Area Seventy, Sixth Quorum. After he suffered a devastating stroke, Christensen wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review called “How Will You Measure Your Life?” which became a book on how to achieve a fulfilling life.

Christensen is survived by his wife, Christine, and their children, Matthew, Michael, Spencer, Ann and Catherine Christensen; and nine grandchildren.

Visitations will be held:

  • Friday, Jan. 31 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 15 Ledgewood Pl. in Belmont
  • Saturday, Feb from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 65 Binney St., in Kendell Square, Cambridge

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 65 Binney St, Cambridge.

BHS PAC Trivia Night 2020 Fundraiser, Friday, Feb. 7

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Photo: Poster of BHS PAC Trivia Night.

The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s fourth annual Trivia Night will take place on Friday, Feb. 7, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

Event-goers can form a team of six to eight people prior to the event, or join a team upon arrival. The event includes free wine, beer, and delicious food from local vendors, with plenty of time to socialize between trivia rounds. 

This event will be a great opportunity for the Belmont residents, friends, and colleagues to participate in an entertaining evening of friendly competition and community building to support the high school’s Performing Arts Company.

Attendees will be have the chance to meet and mingle with the staff who work on the PAC shows, including producer/director Ezra Flam and choreographer Jenny Lifson. All funds raised will support the purchase of new technical equipment for the PAC and the Dan Scharfman College Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to two graduating PAC students each year.

DATE: Friday, February 7, 7-10 pm 
LOCATION: Beech Street Center
PRICE: $45 per ticket

Participating vendors include: Comella’s, Fiorella’s, Anna’s Taqueria, Magnolia Wine, Conley’s Pub, Wilson Farm, Star Market, Iggy’s, The Spirited Gourmet, Spice Delight, and many more!

Tickets are $45. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://www.bhs-pac.org/trivia-night.html or email Carolyn Boyle, Chairperson of Patrons (the PAC parent group), at bhspatrons@gmail.com.

School Committee OKs ‘20-‘21 School Year Opening Before Labor Day

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Photo: The calendar for the coming school year.

Despite past complaints by parents fearing squashed holiday plans and previous votes, the Belmont School Committee approved the 2020-2021 calendar in which the first day of school will occur the week before Labor Day.

The official opening day for 1st to 12th graders will be Wednesday, Sept. 2. Half of kindergarteners will begin classes on Sept. 3 and the remainder on Sept. 4. The last scheduled day of school will be Tuesday, June 22 but could be shortened as that date includes five “snow” days.

And parents should be prepared to have their late summer holiday plans reflect a pre-Labor Day opening day of school for the next three school years ending in 2023-2024.

The earlier start is due to language added to district policy authorized by the school committee in June 2017: “When Labor Day occurs on or before September 3 , the start date for students will be the first Wednesday after Labor Day. When Labor Day occurs later than September 3 , the start date for students will be the Wednesday before Labor Day.“

The wording came into effect after the 2017-18 school year that began on Wednesday, Sept. 6, one of the latest opening in many years as Labor Day was celebrated on Monday, Sept. 4. The late start resulted in kindergarteners not having a full day in classes until Monday, Sept. 11.

The committee voted to approve the late date in January 2017 but with a proviso to revisit the question.

The pre-Labor Day opening has long been advocated by Belmont Superintendent John Phelan who in 2016 told the committee holding two full days of classes on the Wednesday and Thursday before the holiday allows students “to get all the hot air” out of their systems before the long holiday weekend.

Psychologically, the “first-day worries” experienced by students and teachers are out of the way, and the students are “in school” during the first full week in September, said Phelan.

Dogs And Mini Horses – But Not Pets – OK’d As Support Animals In Belmont Schools

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Photo:

In Sarah Hale’s nursery rhyme, Mary’s lamb followed her to school one day and “[t]hat was against the rule.”

While that remains the case for lambs, snakes, rodents, llamas and most other mammals and reptiles, Belmont students can now bring dogs or miniature horses to class after the Belmont School Committee approved policy allowing “service animals” to assist pupils inside the town’s six school buildings.

According to School Superintendent John Phelan, the policy was driven by a request from a student and their parents, the first time anyone has sought to use a service animal in Belmont schools.

Following existing guidelines in use at nearby towns and state and federal law, the committee’s policy subcommittee created very specific wording on what constitutes a service animal, so the family pet is unlikely to make the grade. “A service animal performs some of the functions and tasks that individuals with disabilities cannot perform themselves,” reads the new policy. Under the new rules, these animals will need to certified and trained to handle their duties.

Examples include guiding the blind, alerting the deaf, pulling a wheelchair, assisting those who hav’e seizures and alerting a diabetics who experiencing the effects of low blood sugar.

If the animal’s task is not readily apparent, such as those that provide emotional and anxiety assistance, the parents of the student will be required to answer a pair of questions: 1). Is the animal required because of the student’s disability, and 2). What work and task has the animal been trained to do for the student with the disability.

The role of animals as emotional support services has come under fire this week as the US Department of Transportation is ready to permit airlines to stop accepting those animals on planes, only allowing service dogs. Airlines have argued that many passengers are using the currently loose rules to claim household pets are service animals which allows them to ride for free.

The school district is requiring that all animals comply with rules and standards:

  • the animal must be harnessed, leashed or tethered unless those interfere with do its job.
  • the district doesn’t assume or take custody of any part of the animal’s care – it won’t feed it on school grounds.
  • And it must be housebroken for obvious reasons.

The mini horses will have their own regulations including if the equine is too big or heavy for the building and if it ”compromises the legitimate safety requirements” necessary for the safe operation of certain schools. In addition, if the horse causes others to have an allergic reaction, the animal will be located in a specific area of the building.

As for other animals, future requests for an emotional support peacock (United refused the bird from flying in the cabin) or pot-belly pig (Websites exist to do just that), Phelan said each request would be handled individually and only if they are accepted, will the school’s policies be altered.

Cardboard Drop-Off On Saturday, Jan. 25, At Town Yard

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Photo: Cardboard drop-off on Saturday.

Do you have too much cardboard for your recycling cart? Then come to the DPW cardboard drop-off event on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Yard at the end of C Street off Waverley Street.

This drop-off is for Belmont residents only, so bring ID verifying your address.

It is important to flatten all cardboard to keep the line moving. The DPW will not take cardboard that has been wet or not flattened. Details below.

Bidding Opens For New Skating Rink, Decision On Winning Offer In May

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Photo: A new rink will replace the five decade old “Skip” Viglirolo Skating Rink.

In the same week the Belmont’s Skip Viglirolo Skating Rink was forced to shut down due to “unseasonably warm” temperatures – in January(!)– the town and schools OKed opening the bidding process to build a next-generation private/public partnership skating facility on school property west of Harris Field.

“This is actually a big moment in the development of this project,” said Jeffery Wheller, Belmont’s senior planner before a joint meeting of the Select Board and School Committee as each group voted unanimously to approve the release of the final version of the request for proposal on Jan. 15.

“Hopefully after tonight’s presentation we’ll get some exciting responses to the project,” he said.

The town’s Community Development Office also released a seven-month timeline of important milestones the RFP will undergo before a deal is struck.

  • Wednesday, Jan. 15: RFP is released to the public.
  • Wednesday, Jan. 29: Site visit and preliminary meeting with interested parties.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 25: Select Board/School Committee discuss review process.
  • Friday, March 20: Proposals are due.
  • Tuesday, April 7: School Committee/Select Board review top proposals.
  • Tuesday, April 28: School Committee/Select Board interview best proposals.
  • Tuesday, May 12: School Committee/Select Board selects the winning proposal.
  • Monday, June 1: On the second night of the 2020 annual Town Meeting, a Special Town Meeting will be convened to vote: 1). To lease school property to a private developer(s) and 2). amend the definition in the town’s zoning bylaw on municipal recreational uses.
  • Tuesday, June 9: School Committee awards a contract to the winning proposal.
  • Between June 10 to July 8: School Committee negotiates a long-term lease with the selected developer(s).

The town is predicting the design and site plan review process managed by the Planning Board will take between six to nine months. Only when that is completed can the developer seek a building permit.

The existing rink – known as “The Skip” – will remain in operation until the new facility is up and running and will be taken down by the town unless the area that the rink currently occupies will is needed to fulfill the town’s programmatic needs.

The RFP is fairly similar to earlier drafts, although a proposed tennis complex has been removed from the proposal.

The main features of the RFP include:

  • The facility – which may be expanded to be a year round operation – will need to share the land west of the existing rink and Harris Field with three athletic fields, a pair of throwing circles and 110 parking spaces (90 reserved for students on school days) that will be built at town expense.
  • The facility – with a maximum height of two-and-a-half stories – can contain a full-size and one half-size sheet of ice. The building will have at least 300 seats for spectators, public restrooms, a skate shop and food concessions.
  • The building will have a minimum of four locker rooms with two containing 35 lockers for boys’ and girls’ varsity and the other two with 45 lockers for the junior varsity teams. Each room will have a coaches room, showers and storage. The facility will also have a refs room, an athletic trainers room and wet area.
  • Two locker rooms will also be used by high school fall and spring sports, one each for the home and visiting teams. The restrooms will also have outdoor accessibility.
  • The town would “prefer” a zero-net energy facility i.e. avoiding fossil fuels to power the site.
  • The high school’s ice hockey teams will have four consecutive hours of ice time Monday to Saturday, during the 15-week season. Games will be played over two hours. Belmont Youth Hockey will have hours and times that meet its growing needs as will programs linked to the town’s Recreation Department.
  • The hours of operation will be negotiated with the winning bidder and the town.

Each candidate will be evaluated and ranked based on a matrix in which the town will grade the four comparative evaluation criteria the town has selected.

For example, those bidders that can show experience designing and building a significant number of similar rinks that have been successful and with similar goals as Belmont is seeking will receive a “very advantageous” ranking; those who have built only “some” facilities will be seen as being “advantageous” while those with no experience constructing rinks will be deemed “non-advantageous.”

Marauders, SpyPonders Draw Blanks In Girls Hockey Showdown

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Photo: Belmont’s Bridget Gray makes the save early in the first period.

An anticipated barnburner between a pair of red hot teams never materialized as stone cold defense stole the show between Arlington and host Belmont as the Middlesex Liberty rivals skated to a joint shutout, 0-0, at the Skip Wednesday, Jan. 15.

The tie hampers both squads attempts to stay close to league leader Woburn (7-1-1) which beat Belmont, 5-2, but lost to Arlington, 5-1.

In a game which Arlington (5-1-2) held the upper hand for most of the 45 minutes, the highlights came from the top defensive pairings from both teams while each goaltender did what was required to come off the ice with a clean sheet.

The SpyPonders first D-line of junior Shea O’Day and first year Cailyn Murphy were especially solid tracking down Belmont’s top scorers – senior Katie Goden, junior Emma O’Donovan and first year Lilly Duffy – and limiting the offense to single shots on goal. Belmont’s seniors Meaghan Noone and Jenna Crowley produced more of an attacking punch for the Marauders (7-1-2).

The SpyPonders had the advantage of goal scoring chances including a pair of near breakaways (from first year players Molly Conneely and Madeline Krepelka) in the first six minutes of the game. But each one was stifled by Belmont’s goalie Bridget Gray, the first year standout in the league who earned her sixth overall and third consecutive shut out to lower her goal-against average to an eye popping 0.85.

Offensively, Arlington was happy to keep the puck on the boards before breaking out as it relied on its physical playing style. Belmont leaned on its quickness to attack on the counter and pounce on the odd SpyPonder miscue.

While Arlington’s sophomore tender Elise Rodd was troubled by a handful of shots – Belmont’s best chance came from senior Kara Rowan from the slot that flew by the left post in the second period – Gray faced 35 in which several required a quick glove hand including several sprawling pad saves early and late in the third.

Belmont welcomes Watertown on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m.