Watertown Brothers Arrested in Belmont on Drug Charges

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Photo: Police arrest pair in Belmont.

Two Watertown brothers were arrested in Belmont this past Friday and charged with possession and distribution of a variety of drugs.

On Friday, Aug. 7, Belmont detectives assigned to the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at 31 Thayer Rd. in Watertown, according to Belmont Police Asst. Chief James MacIsaac.

Immediately following the search at the address, the detectives arrested Daniel McDonough, 20, on Trapelo Road in Belmont. At the time of his arrest, McDonough, of 31 Thayer Road, was in the possession of an estimated three grams of heroin.

Also arrested was Daniel’s brother, Thomas J. McDonough, 24, of the same address. Both were charged with possession to distribute a variety of drugs including heroin,

Phone Scammers Using Belmont Light to Fleece Customers

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Photo: Phone scammers using Belmont Light to fleece customers.

The caller says he is phoning from Belmont Light’s billing and collection service.

He says your account is overdue and unless the bill is settled immediately – he advises making the payment over the phone – your electrical service will be terminated. 

If you receive this call, Belmont Police is telling residents to hang up immediately as it is part of an ongoing scam targeting the utility’s customers.

According to police, “legitimate billing inquiries from Belmont Light come directly from their customer service department and Belmont Light does not take telephone payments or ask for payments via immediate money orders.”

In addition, customers should never give out their financial and banking information over the phone unless they themselves initiated the call to Belmont Light.

To verify a billing inquiry or to alert Belmont Light of a suspicious phone call, please call Belmont Light Customer Service at 617-993-2800.

West Nile Virus Detected in Mosquito Collected in Belmont

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Photo: Mosquito in Belmont.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Thursday, Aug. 6, that the West Nile virus was detected in one mosquito collected from Belmont.

WNV is transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. While WNV can infect people of all ages, those 50 and older are at higher risk for severe infection.

As always, there are a few precautions people can do to help to protect themselves and their families:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

• Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours – The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. Otherwise, take extra care to use repellent and protective clothing.

• Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

• Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age. Permethrin products are intended for use on items such as clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear and should not be applied to skin.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home 

• Drain Standing Water – Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Make sure rain barrels are covered or screened. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.

• Install or Repair Screens – Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of WNV activity in Massachusetts during 2015 can be found on the MDPH website at http://www.mass.gov/dph/wnv.

Belmont Under Severe Thunderstorm Watch ’til 8 p.m. Tuesday

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Photo: Thunderstorms on the way.

Belmont, along with most of eastern Massachusetts, is under a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 4.

The National Weather Service issued the warning at 12:20 p.m., advising residents to be prepared for the potential for the development of thunderstorms which may produce large hail or damaging winds.

When a watch is issued, people should go about your normal activities, but keep an eye to the sky and an ear to the National Weather Service’s weather radio or local radio and television stations for further updates and possible warnings.

In addition, a tornado warning has been issued for an area just to the west of Route 3 near Chelmsford for 2:30 p.m. 

Belmont Street Will Be a Milling Mess Monday, Tuesday

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Photo: More work on Belmont Street.

Go away.

That is likely the best advice for those daily commuters who travel along the lower section of Belmont Street as the main thoroughfare from School Street to the Cambridge line will become an active construction site on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 3 and 4.

Nashua, NH-based Newport Construction will be micro-milling –  where the pavement is removed, ground up then reused as the aggregate in new pavement – on Belmont Street from School Street to and including the intersection of Ericsson Road.

The work – part of the $17 million Trapelo Road/Belmont Street Corridor Reconstruction Project running from Cambridge-to-Waltham – will require traffic to proceed in single lanes with major delays due to heavy construction equipment on the road.

All of Belmont Street between those two intersections will be posted for “NO PARKING” in preparation for the milling on Monday.

Belmont Resident ‘Stable’ After Being Seriously Injured at Acadia National Park

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Photo: The accident scene at Acadia National Park where a Belmont resident was seriously injured on Monday. (Acadia National Park photo).

A Belmont resident is in “stable condition” in a Bangor, Maine hospital with a collapsed lung and several broken ribs a day after she was run over by her family’s SUV when it began rolling backwards at a popular site at Acadia National Park on Monday, July 27.

The 38-year-old, whose name or address was not provided by the National Parks Service, was hurt near the trail head of the north ridge of Champlain Mountain, according to Chief Ranger Stuart West on Tuesday, July 28.

West told the Belmontonian the victim – who was also the driver – was with her family when they stopped their vehicle on the side of the road on an up-slop. When they got out, the woman forgot to place the vehicle in “park” and it began to drift down the the road towards a group of people and parked cars.

The woman attempted to get back into the moving vehicle to apply the brake. At that moment, the SUV quickly picked up speed and the front end swung to the side. The victim only got half way into the vehicle before the open driver’s door knocked her to the ground.

West said the front wheel ran over the woman before ended up in a ditch by the side of the road.

West said a park ranger was on the scene almost immediately and an ambulance from nearby Bar Harbor was there within minutes, likely saving her life.

Due to fog on the coast, the woman was evacuated to the airport in Trenton then taken via LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Administrators at EMMC could not provide any health updates without the woman’s name.

Belmont Fire Log: Sharp-Eyed Firefighter Spots Improperly-Placed Grill

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Photo: Summer grilling. 

One hot car

July 16 – At twenty ’til 2 p.m., Engine 1 and the Ladder truck hustled over to a car fire on Howard Street located across from the Chenery Middle School.  Both crews assisted the other in extinguishing the car fire. The motor vehicle was towed to the Town Yard.

An downstairs disaster everted 

July 17 – Just a few ticks away from 8 p.m., all of the town’s fire equipment was sent to a single-family house on York Road where the report of smoke in the basement. The Engine 2 crew reported smoke filling the area. Rushing in, firefighters discovered a small blaze – about a foot wide and deep – in a small storage area. The blaze was put out using a Class A extinguisher while the crew from the Ladder truck helped ventilate the house. The culprit? An errant cigarette. The homeowner said a family member accidentally caused the fire.

That smell

July 18 – At 11:23 a.m., an occupant of a Westlund Road dwelling said they smelled a “distinct fuel odor” coming from the basement. Fire personnel soon found a leak from the oil burner. The line from the oil tank was shut down and SpeedyDry® was put down on ground.

On deck: grill close call 

July 18 – At 10 minutes ’til 6 p.m., fire equipment was returning back to the station when an eagle eyed firefighter noticed what appeared to be a grill fire on the rear deck of a house on Slade Street. Not only was he correct concerning the placement of the grill, it turns out the grease had just ignited in the drip pan. The fire was quickly extinguished, the grill relocated and the resident was made aware of fire regulations on the placement of grills.

Rabies in Pair of Animals Has Health Department Issue Warning

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Photo: Fox.

The Belmont Health Department has issued a warning to residents of an outbreak of rabies after a second non-domesticated animal tested positive for the illness in the past month.

A fox captured by Belmont Animal Control Officer John Maguranis on Monday, July 13 and a skunk on June 21 were infected by the very serious viral disease found in animals that can spread from an infected animal to a person.

Rabies is disperse through the saliva of an animal and can be transmitted from a bite, or when the animal’s saliva comes in contact with a person’s mouth, eyes or an open sore, according to the Health Department. 

The department and Belmont Police Department are urging residents to protect their families and pets by taking the following steps: 

  • Make sure your dogs and cats (including inside only cats), are up to date on their rabies vaccinations. 
  • Keep your children, loved ones, and pets from approaching, touching, or feeding wild or stray animals. 
  • Garbage should be contained in garbage cans that are closed and secured to avoid attracting wildlife. 
  • Do not feed or water your pets outdoors. Empty bowls will attract wild and stray animals. 
  • Do not let your cats and dogs roam freely. 
  • Keep your chimney capped and repair holes in attics, cellars, garages and porches to help keep wild animals like bats and raccoons out of your home. 
  • Report any animal that behaves oddly, looks sick, injured or orphaned to the Animal Control Officer or the Health Department at: Belmont Animal Control 617-993-2724. Belmont Health Department 617-993-2720. 
  • If the Animal Control Officer or Heath Department cannot be reached, notify the Belmont Police at 617-484-1212. 

If a bite or other significant exposure to rabies does occur, quick action can prevent progression to rabies disease.

• If a person has been bitten or scratched by an unfamiliar animal or an animal suspected of having rabies, immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and then seek medical attention. If you find a bite or wound on your dog or cat that cannot be explained, take your animal to a veterinarian. 

Belmont/Trapelo Corridor Repaving ‘On Schedule’

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Photo: Paving work underway along Belmont Street.

Despite construction equipment on the road and travel limited to single lanes along one of Belmont’s busiest throughways, the major paving work along the Belmont Street/Trapelo Road Corridor is “on schedule,” according to construction officials at the work site.

The laying down of several inches of asphalt should be completed by the end of the construction day at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, June 30.

A final topcoat of paving material will be applied along the entire reconstruction route when the project is completed early in the spring of 2016. 

The paving work from Cushing Square (at the intersection of Trapelo Road and Common Street) to the corner of Belmont Street and School Street is part of the $17 million reconstruction of the 2.5 mile route from the Waltham to the Cambridge town lines. 

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Beware! Paving Along Belmont Street/Trapelo Road Monday, Tuesday

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Photo:

The main east/west corridor through Belmont will be clogged with asphalt spreaders and dump trucks as the roadway from Cushing Square towards the Cambridge line will undergoing street paving on Monday and Tuesday, June 29 and 30.

The work will begin at 7 a.m. and last until 6 p.m. 

The paving is part of the reconstruction of the 2.5 mile Belmont Street/Trapelo Road Corridor project, the $17 million Massachusetts Department of Transportation-financed repair of the major throughway from Waltham to Cambridge.

The Belmont Police is advising motorists to seek alternative routes during the two days in which the road will be under construction.