League Title 2.0: Belmont Boys’ Hoops Defends Middlesex Liberty Crown

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Photo: Champs again.

Senior Co-captain Mac Annus was still smarting from his seven-point performance in Belmont second league defeat, a 69-63 home loss to Wakefield on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

“It was kinda rough thinking about not scoring. I made only one three,” said the Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball forward who averages in the high teens per game.

So when Belmont hosted Arlington on Friday, Feb. 7, Annus went back to what he does best on the court.

“I just started shooting and just stuck with it. Just stay confident that I’d start hitting those shots,” he said.

And Annus did just that, throwing up 35 points including nailing nine 3s to pace the Marauders to a 90-66 victory over the SpyPonders. After falling behind by nine early in the second quarter, Belmont stepped it up on the defensive end – shutting down Jr SpyPonder Myles Hess (20 pts) who burned the Marauders with five 3s in the first quarter alone – limiting Arlington to 9 points in the second.

Offensively, Belmont nearly doubled its output in the second quarter led by Annus who sank three 3s, a basket and a pair of free throws to end the half with 19. He was joined by senior Avery Arno (11 points) who drained nine points in the quarter as Belmont built a 43-32 advantage at the half.

The third quarter nearly turned into a game of horse between Annus and teammate junior Preston Jackson-Stephens (12 points in the third, 23 for the game) as the two threw in three 3s with some layups to boot with Annus scored 13 points in consecutive quarters.

Belmont’s 14th win of the season (against four losses) also clinched the Marauders consecutive Middlesex Liberty titles. The victory comes during the last half of the season which has been a struggle; a pair of losses to Middlesex Freedom rivals – snapping a two-year unbeaten streak in the League and three years undefeated at home – and wins which were secured in the final seconds.

“This is a very competitive league and you have to come prepared each night because there really isn’t an easy game in the Middlesex especially in the latter part of the season. There are no secrets that you can spring on anyone,” said long-time Belmont Head Coach Pritchard.

Yet it was also during this string of games in which the Marauders defeated a strong top-10 squad from Catholic Memorial, 86-84.

Belmont travels to the Middlesex Freedom champs Burlington (15-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 11, for the unofficial title of Middlesex League champions before ending the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 13, in a doubleheader with the Girls’ team against Woburn.

Immigration Highlights Keynote Address At Belmont’s Annual MLK Breakfast, Jan. 20

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Photo: Ragini Shah, founder and director of Suffolk University’s Immigration Clinic will be the keynote speaker at the annual MLK Community Breakfast.

The bond linking civil rights leader Martin Luther King and the struggle immigrants experience in today’s adverse environment will be the focus of this year’s keynote address at the 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast.

The event sponsored by the town’s Human Rights Commission and Belmont Against Racism will be held Jan. 20, 2020 from 8:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Belmont High School cafeteria.

Ragini Shah, clinical professor of law at Suffolk Law School and founder of Suffolk’s Immigration Clinic will talk on “Uplifting the Human Personality: Martin Luther King and Immigrants’ Rights Today.”

Music will fill out the program

There will be pastries, fruit, juice and coffee as well as supervised activity for children under 12.

Tickets: $5 for individuals; $10 per family. Pay at door or with eventbrite (tinyurl.com/BelmontMLK2020)

All proceeds and donations will be go to support the Belmont School’s METCO Support Fund which funds late transportation for METCO high school students who participate in after-school activities at Belmont High School and across all Belmont schools for programs that bring our Boston and Belmont students together.

Donations to the METCO Support Fund can be made by cash or check to: Belmont Against Racism, P.O. Box 649, Belmont, MA 02478

For info on the community breakfast, contact the Human Rights Commission at 617-993-2795 or belmont.hrc@gmail.com.

Obituary: Trevor O’Rourke, 25, Determined To Belong In This World

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Photo: Trevor Jamil O’Rourke

Services will be held this weekend for Belmont resident Trevor Jamil O’Rourke who died on Friday, Dec. 7, 2019. O’Rourke, who battled polysubstance abuse for many years, was 25.

Visiting hours will take place in the Brown & Hickey Funeral Home, 36 Trapelo Rd., Belmont on Friday, Dec. 13 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

A celebration of Trevor will be held at Story Chapel in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt Auburn St., Cambridge on Saturday Dec. 14, 2019 at 1 p.m. Relatives and friends invited.

Trevor attended Belmont Public Schools, Landmark High School, and graduated from Clearway High School. He continued his studies at Westfield State University. 

Born five weeks premature on April 7, 1994, in Boston at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, O’Rourke “came into this world fighting and despite his difficult entry, he was determined to belong in this world,” read a statement from his family.

“Over the past 25 years, Trevor and his family left no stone unturned to find the best fit to meet his educational and emotional needs. Throughout his young life he worked hard in therapy and utilized many special education programs to build the skills needed to overcome his disabilities, and emotional hardships which too often included a sense that he didn’t belong in this world. Despite all his struggles and ups and downs, he had many successes and many moments where he felt he did belong.”

“So many people could see his passion, commitment and perseverance particularly when he took on a new challenge such as the way he spent hours perfecting the treflip skateboard trick, or the vigor and energy he put into his newly found hobby of rock-climbing. These were activities that helped keep his mind focused, his body healthy, and deadly substances at bay.”

“Trevor is not defined by the illness of addiction that took his young life but rather by the strength, fortitude, and courage he put forth to overcome his disabilities and mental health struggles,” said his family.

O’Rourke is survived by his parents James and Laura, sister Dana, brother Brady, soulmate and partner Keri Beucler, maternal grandparents Walid and Carol Pharaon, aunts and uncles Madeline, Jackie, Jane, Edward, Basem and many cousins.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Trevor can be made to Learn to Cope, a support network for families coping with addiction: 4 Court St. Ste 110 Taunton, MA 02780 learn2cope.org/donate-3 or Foundation for Belmont Education, PO Box 518, Belmont, MA 02478 or FBE-Belmont.org/Giving

Orchestra Pit Takes One Step Closer To Reality At New Middle/High Schools

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Photo: Arto Asadoorian, director of fine & performing arts in Belmont.

It may not be Broadway but its looking likely the theater in the new Belmont Middle and High School will have a professional-designed orchestra pit after the school’s building committee OK’d moving forward with a basic design on Thursday, Oct. 10.

After a nearly unanimous vote to move forward on designs and installing piles where the $150,000 pit will be constructed, supporters – including Parents Of Music Students, Parents of Performing Arts Students and the School Department’s Arts department – committed to a fund raising effort to improve even more the space’s functionality.

“It is a good night for the arts,” said Arto Asadoorian, director of fine & performing arts who helped spearhead the effort to include the orchestra pit into the theater.

“As an artist, I think [a pit] should be part of every auditorium” as it “really affects the number of kids who can be part of the theater department,” said Asadoorian.

The push for a pit started month before after architectural drawings revealed no dedicated area for musicians in the front of the stage. “We didn’t anticipate it,” said Bill Lovallo, chair of the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee, noting that the Massachusetts School Building Authority – which the town is partnering with on constructing the new school – does not mention a pit as part of the educational program.

A pit will allow a greater number of student musicians – up to 16 to 20 – to be part of arts programs such as playing in the annual musicals for both schools, reducing the need for professional musicians.

The pit’s educational aspect caught the attention of many members of the committee.

“This [building] project is about growing our programs to better serve our students,” said Lovallo.

Supporters also noted a pit can not be retrofitted into a completed theater; it’s either add it now so it can be part of the building’s construction or abandon having a dedicated space.

For the most part the building committee members were supportive of adding a pit to the theater although it came with a “Jerry McGuire” caveat: “Show me the money!”

“I don’t want to be kidding anyone, it’s going to cost us to add a pit,” said Lovallo. After having conducted at times a painful value engineering process of cutting just over $19 million of cost overruns in the past month, committee members said their approval would be contingent on funding.

Lovallo said the committee will know if the funding is available within a month after a review of the project’s expenses with 90 percent of construction design is completed.

But even with funding still up in the air, the committee appeared ready to give a thumbs up to the addition.

“I think it’s a worthwhile add,” said Jamie Shea, the Foundation for Belmont Education representative and a Belmont High teacher. “I think it has a direct impact on programming, a direct impact on our students.”

And while pointing out that a pit allows the school to leverage the theater space to accommodate more students and programs, “but we should be thoughtful about how we move forward,” said John Phelan, Belmont School Superintendent. With many aspects of the building’s design already put on hold, “we must decide whether this is where the money needs to go or to other [areas] that we put on hold.”

One member, Bob McLaughlin, pondered out loud that since High School musical productions are not “professional” quality that a pit was more a luxury than educational necessity.

“If we start to find money at the 90 percent, there’s still time to put some of those things that were so painful to cut back in the budget” that are of a greater priority than an orchestra pit.

But for the head of the Belmont arts education, while the performances are by students, “[w]e take this seriously,” said Asadoorian. Saying he never once heard in his 14 years anyone in the community describe an arts program as “just a high school” event, Asadoorian said standards for performances at Belmont school’s “are way higher than that.”

“What we’re asking for is that you give us a space where we can put our students in a position where they can be successful,” said Asadoorian, who added that due to the new theater being more compact than the existing site, the absence of a pit will not allow for the status quo of musical performances in the future.

With the knowledge that a price point for the pit would be asked by the building committee members, Perkins+Will’s Elizabeth Dame presented four design scenarios of which the most expensive – a pit with a mechanical lift for more than $650,000 – and the existing “no pit” plan were quickly set aside.

In the end, the committee coalesced around the less costly of the two remaining designs; a 27-inch deep pit with no infill panels and a movable ramp and guard rails. Construction and design costs is estimated at $152,200. And it is anticipated that one or a combination of arts supporter groups will fundraise in the future so the pit will include infill panels.

While they will not make a firm decision until next month, the committee approved spending $25,000 to commit to initial site work and setting piles as the project is beginning the critical concrete foundation work and prepping for steel erection.

Shanah Tovah: Rosh Hashanah Begins Sunset Sunday

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Photo: Happy Rosh Hashanah

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, begins at sunset (at 6:30 p.m.), Sunday, Sept. 30 and lasts until Tuesday evening, Oct. 2.

Rosh Hashanah – which in Hebrew translates to “head of the year” – is a time of inner renewal and divine atonement. It begins the the High Holidays culminating with Yom Kippur on Tuesday evening, Oct. 8. It is a time for observant people to acknowledge their sins of the previous year and are judged for their transgressions by God.

The holiday will affect after-school activities and athletic events in Belmont’s public schools. Under current district rules, teachers should be aware of the holiday when assigning homework and tests as some students will be attending religious services. 

Meals include apples dipped in honey to symbolize a sweet new year and at least one brisket dinner. Other traditions include participating in tashlich, Hebrew for “casting off” in which people go to a nearby body of water – Clay Pit Pond is a popular site – and throw in pieces of bread, which signifies the washing away of sin.

With $19M Of Red Ink To Drain, HS Building Committee Look To Designers/Builders For Fix

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Photo: William Lovallo, the chair of the Belmont Middle and High School Building committee, explaining the $19 million deficit in the project.

The first law of holes is when you find yourself in one, stop digging.

And this past week, the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee did just that when it turned to the design team of Perkins+Will and general contractor Skanska USA to lead the process of filling a $19 million deficit at the $295 million construction project.

“We have heard loud and clear that a solution needs to be found,” said William Lovallo, the chair of the building committee.

According to Lovallo, the red ink has its origin in a “creep” in the project’s expenses and red hot real estate. The creep he spoke of is scope creep which refers to changes and continuous or uncontrolled growth in the project’s scope at any point after the project begins.

One example at the high school site: the expense of removing the soil dug up to allow the building of the high school wing.

“It turned out we needed to truck out a lot more dirt than expected,” said Lovallo.

Cost escalation is the second element, a result of Boston’s highly competitive construction sector as well as events outside the region that increase the cost of raw material and labor.

The plan to find the necessary savings was outlined by Tom Gatzunis of Daedalus, the committee’s owner project manager, who said the cuts would be found through value engineering which aims to identify and reduce unnecessary costs while maintaining or improving the value of the overall project.

This will be the second time the project will undergo a value engineering exercise as the committee spent two meetings in May ranking $30 million of construction expenses that either should or should not be cut due to worrying estimates that pre-production costs were beginning to spike.

But Lovallo admitted the committee missed “a golden opportunity” then, admitting the process was “rushed” over the two nights as the process became a showcase for a large number of residents focused on the project’s energy efficiency such as requiring solar arrays be a mandatory part of the development.

This time, the committee would leave the number crunching to the design and construction teams which have detailed familiarity of expenses and savings and have come to understand the committee’s core priorities which include keeping value within an educational program. It was unanimously approved by the committee at its August meeting.

“I like this approach,” said Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, approving of the collaboration between the three main players – the committee, designers and contractors – which will become “a team of one.”

The key areas of the project the team will focus on and the estimated target cost savings are:

  • the exterior ($3.5-$4 million),
  • the interior ($6.5-8 million),
  • the building systems ($2.5-$3.5 million),
  • the structure ($2-$3 million),
  • phasing and logistics ($.25-$.75 million)
  • and general conditions ($1-$1.5 million).

While the design and construction teams will present as a team a list of alterations to the building to cover the deficit, “It’s you at the end of the day which will approve or disapprove the changes,” said Gatzunis.

According to Brooke Trivas of Perkins+Will, some of the decisions the committee will need to make will be difficult “because there’s not a lot of fluff in this building.”

Last Wednesday, the team made its first stab at findings savings by tackling the interior with some encouraging results. Changes to the type of acoustic tiles on the ceilings of the high school corridors would save a little over a half of a million dollars while a different ceiling lighting fixture in the classrooms – producing the same amount of light with similar energy savings – would produce a “big number” of nearly $900,000 in cost reduction, according to Mike Morrison of Skanska.

But some changes were not considered by the committee as adding value to the building. When a suggestion to use a paint-like coating over drywall rather than tile in restrooms – which could save the project $950,000 -several educators on the committee and the town’s facilities director Steve Dorrance cautioned against this alteration.

“There will be 2,250 students using the restrooms everyday,” said Phelan, which will require a great deal of cleaning which tile floors and walls is the only practical surface to stand up to the repeated washings.

The cost reduction team and the committee will meet twice more – on Wednesday, Sept. 11 and Thursday, Sept. 19 – with presentations and final dollar estimates on the 19th.

Breaking: Man Hit, Killed By Commuter Rail Train At Brighton Street

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Photo: Commuter trains along the Fitchburg line at Belmont’s Brighton Street intersection.

An unidentified 21-year-old man was killed early Monday morning, Aug. 19, when he was hit by a commuter rail train as he attempted to cross the tracks at Brighton Street, according to Transit Police. It is unknown which hospital Belmont EMT took the man.

The incident occurred at 6:16 a.m., according to public safety officials at the scene. The Number 400 train, the first of the day inbound to Boston, is scheduled at the Belmont station at 6:13 a.m.

A dozen officials from the MBTA, Transit, Belmont and State Police, as well as Keolis Commuter Services which runs the commuter rail system for the MBTA, were at the scene collecting evidence. Just before 9 a.m., officials examined then took a bike away – along with a helmet and a carrying case – that was leaning up against a signpost.

The accident occurred on the MBTA right of way, which is under the control of Transit Police.

Today marks the fourth time in a little more than a decade a serious accident occurred at the Brighton Street crossing. A man was killed by a train in February 2009 and a woman seriously injured after her vehicle was caught between the gates in December 2016. In March 2018, a man in his 60s suffered life-threatening injuries after being hit late at night.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Pile Driving At High School Starts Tuesday, Aug. 20

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Photo: Pile driving set to start on Tuesday.

Get ready, Belmont. Beginning early next week, the neighbors living near the Belmont Middle and High School construction site will soon be listening to 10 hours a day of “the rockinest, rock-steady beat” of pile driving madness.

That’s the word from Skanska, the project’s general contractor, which announced the long awaited installation of the underpinnings of the new school’s foundation at the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13. The foundation will require a few hundred piles (essentially poles) to transfer the large building loads to the earth farther down from the surface.

According to Project Manager Mike Morrison, the pile driving team will be onsite by Friday, Aug. 16 with the actual installation of the first of the 80 foot piles beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

And the pounding will be a constant for residents and students for the next months. The steady beat of the drill pounding away on the site will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In addition, due to state regulations on the transportation of extremely long piles on highways, residents can expect deliveries traveling on town streets from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Just how long will the steady beat of piles being driven deep into the soil? Morrison would only say the work will continue “through the fall” with no specific end date.

And it will be loud. According to data from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the noise produced when the anvil strikes the strike plate on the pile can generate noise as much as 135 dB, which is somewhere between jackhammer and a jet engine. Even 200 feet from the source, the noise can reach 68 dB.

For some, the vibration and noise can be too much. On the website SeeClickFix.com, the pile driving conducted at the former Lane & Games bowling alley off of Route 2 in North Cambridge a year ago brought a torrid of complaints from Arlington and Cambridge residents.

“Like you, we’re pretty annoyed by hearing it start up every morning in the distance, like the Excedrin headache from @#$%,” wrote David S.

The work will begin close to the school than move outward towards Harris Field and the intersection of Concord Avenue and Goden Street. Prior to the work starting, owners of 43 of approximately 76 residential structures signed up to have the exterior of their properties examined.

John Phelan, Belmont Schools Superintendent, said he and Isaac Taylor, the High School’s new principal, will be on site when the pile driving begins to monitor the noise level. But he doesn’t believe the noise or vibration will affect learning as students are adept at attending classes with up to seven MBTA commuter trains rumble adjacent to the school.

Belmont Town Administrator Patrice Garvin said residents will be provided a heads up on the start of the job via the police department’s “reverse 911” system.

Underwood Pool Patrons: It’ll Be Crowded This Weekend, So Here’s Some Rules To Know

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Photo: Open for the crowds

With the expected weather forecast for this weekend calling for record heat, the Belmont Recreation Department is anticipating a high volume of users at the Underwood Pool at the corner of Cottage and Concord.

Following state code, the pool may not exceed 275 swimmers in the water at any given time. In the event that maximum capacity is reached, the lifeguards will need to rotate groups in and out of the water in 15-minute intervals to ensure compliance with the law. 

In addition, if the pool reaches capacity, the pool staff may need to limit the sale of single entry day passes.  

The department also wants to remind patrons of some key rules to know so to enjoy this town resource: 

  • Showers: A cleansing shower is required before entering the pool. Please apply sunscreen 30 minutes before entering the pool.  Sunscreen applied right before entry will wash off and impact water quality.  
  • Storm Related Closing: Upon hearing thunder or observing lightning, the pool will be closed immediately.  The pool will remain closed for one hour after the last sighting of lightning or last sounds of thunder.  
  • Membership Tags: As a reminder, membership tags are required for entry to the pool. If you do not have tags, you must show ID to the front desk staff to gain entry.  

Summer Recess Begins Monday At Belmont Public Schools

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Photo: Final walk out of the Wellington.

The unofficial start of summer begins today, Monday, June 17 as Belmont marks the final day of the 2018-19 public school year.

Students won’t be spending the entire day in class as it is an early release for all grades.

Belmont High School: 10:30 a.m.

Chenery Middle School: 11 a.m.

Burbank, Butler and Wellington elementary schools: 11:40 a.m.

Winn Brook: 11:50 a.m.

Some of the elementary schools will have a final walk out of school of the 4th grade students who will be heading to the Chenery Middle School in the fall.

While school is officially “out” for summer recess, there is one final student event taking place: On Saturday, June 22, Belmont High’s boys’ and girls’ rugby squads will complete in the MIAA Division 1 state championships at Curry College in Milton.

And for parents anxious for a return to normalcy, the 2019-2020 school year for 1-12 grades will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 4, with a half day. Kindergarten students will be starting either on Sept. 5 or 6 for a half day.