Photo: State Sen. Brownsberger is holding a town hall in Belmont.
State Sen. Will Brownsberger will host a series of town hall meetings throughout his district in February. All are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts on current events and legislative priorities.
Belmont: Saturday, Feb. 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
Photo: Homer will be there.
The Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s second annual Trivia Night will take place on Friday, Feb. 9, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. 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 the support the BHS Performing Arts Company.
Eventgoers can form a team of 6 to 8 people prior to the event, or join a team upon arrival. The event includes free wine, beer and food from local vendors, with plenty of time to socialize between trivia rounds. Participating vendors include Foodie’s (lead donor), Craft Beer Cellar, Il Casale, The Loading Dock, Trader Joe’s, Theo’s Pizza, Iggy’s Bread and more.
Attendees will 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. Funds raised will go towards 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.
Tickets are on sale for $40. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bhs-pac.org/trivia-night.html or email Marcia Haines, chairperson of Patrons, the PAC parent group, at patronsmarcia@gmail.com.
Photo: Tom Caputo delivers his nomination papers to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.
There will be a new face on the Belmont Board of Selectmen. The question now is will there be a race for the open seat?
So far the facts are that one-term selectman and current chair Jim Williams said he will not submit papers to retain his seat for a second three-year term.
“I’m not running. I’m certain about that,” said the Glenn Road resident this week.
As Williams exits town government, Tom Caputo made it official submitting nomination papers to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman on Friday, Feb. 2, accompanied by his campaign manager Ellen Schreiber.
“I believe Belmont as a town have some very important decisions to make in the next three years, and they will impact our community for the next 30 years,” said Caputo.
See the accompanying video to hear more from Caputo on why he’s running and issues before the board.
The Richmond Road resident is currently serving his first full three-year seat on the School Committee after being appointed to the committee on Nov. 2014 to replace Kevin Cunningham who resigned. At the town election in April 2015, Caputo ran uncontested for the two-years remaining in Cunningham’s term. In April 2017, Caputo was elected to a full three-year appointment with 3,014 votes running with Kate Bowen to fill two slots.
With nomination papers due to the Town Clerk’s Office in less than 10 days on Feb. 13 at 5 p.m., a challenger to Caputo will have about to week to secure the signatures of at least 50 registered voters.
Race for Health Board Now On
There will be a good race for the seat on the Belmont Board of Health as a Van Ness Road resident has returned nomination papers to take on long-time Board member Dr. David Alper who has submitted his papers.
Stephen Fiore is an attorney in civil litigation with the Cambridge firm of Foster & Eldridge, LLP, who is a frequent lecturer on medical-legal issues and health care law. If the last name sounds familiar, Fiore’s wife is Lisa Fiore, the current chair of the Belmont School Committee, who is giving up her three-year seat to seek election for a single year, the remainder of Murat Bicer’s term. Bicer has resigned from the committee as he is moving away from Belmont.
Alper is a Podiatry specialist with an office in his Oak Street home. He is currently serving his tenth elected three-year term as a member of a three-person board the directs the seven-member Health Department staff and its $500,000 annual budget.
Editor’s note: The Health Board story has been revised due to Fiore’s submission of nomination papers to the Town Clerk on Monday, Feb. 5.
Photo: Belmont’s Meghan Tan scoring and being fouled in the game vs. Woburn.
Woburn High senior forward Kelsey Qualey hit an uncontested three-point shot with eight seconds remaining to negate a final minute 10-0 run by Belmont High to beat the Marauders, 58-55, in a barnburner on Friday, Feb. 2 in Woburn.
Qualey’s trey, her only three of the game, came after Belmont rallied from a 55-45 deficit with 1:29 remaining in the fourth, as the Marauders’ senior co-captains Greta Propp and Jenny Call hit consecutive three-point baskets to knot the game at 55 with 36 seconds left in the half.
But when Woburn came down the court, Belmont’s defense “lost” Qualey as she drifted to the left of the basket and had a wide-open shot at the hoop that she calmly sank. A final second attempt by senior co-captain Carly Christofori – an underhanded left-hand prayer that hit nothing but net – was negated by a traveling violation.
“That was a huge shot because we wanted to get into overtime,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Melissa Hart after the game.
“[Woburn]’s defense was fantastic and we didn’t move the ball like we should have. And they had a couple of players that had big games, they just hit more shots,” said Hart.
Belmont now sits at 11-2 with Woburn vaulting to 11-1, and into the lead for the top seed in the coming Divison 1 North sectional post season.
It’s appropriate the game was played in Woburn on Groundhog Day because as in the movie, Belmont relived the same heartbreaking outcome playing in “Wu-town” during the regular season or in the sectional playoffs.
“What are we now in Woburn? Like 0-8,” lamented Hart.
Friday’s game was filled with points streaks. Belmont opened the game on a 9-0 run – Christofori would score all 7 of her first-quarter points in the first 1:15 of the game to go along with a turnaround scoop shot from junior center Jess Giorgio – only to see Woburn storm back with its own 12-0 streak to eventually lead 15-13 at the end of the first eight minutes.
The second quarter was a tight affair when Christofori hit her second three in the half to cut the Tanner lead to two, 24-22, with 1:47 left. That’s when Woburn’s defense and three-point shooting hit its peak, creating four consecutive turnovers as senior Andrea Schiavone (12 points on four threes) and sophomore Ashlyn Pacheco – who played a tight man defense on Christofori – hit from long distance, outscoring Belmont 11-2 in the final 90 seconds to leave the court at the half up 35-24.
“We didn’t stop them when we needed to. If we would have gotten it under five with a few minutes left then it’s not a big mountain to climb. But we were down around 10 the entire second half,” said Hart.
The third quarter saw Belmont only able to cut the lead to 7 points once (38-31) with Woburn playing a collapsing man-to-man defense, clogging the lane and using a phalanx of players to stifle Christofori’s playmaking as the Tanners kept its 11 point margin entering the final quarter.
The last eight minutes started smartly for Belmont as Giorgio – the Marauders’ player of the match working both boards and taking a leadership role on and off the court – and Jane Mahon hit baskets to cut the lead to six points (49-42) after a minute. But Pacheco would hit a basket falling to the court after being fouled to restore the lead to nine. While the Marauders were having trouble finding open shots, the Tanners were now finding themselves under pressure from Belmont’s press.
Belmont’s final run started with a Giorgio basket, followed by Christofori’s only two points in the half from a pair of free throws. On the subsequent Woburn inbounds, Giorgio forced a five-second violation that followed by Propps second three of the quarter, followed by a turnover which allowed Call – the Marauders’ career three-point leader – to make her second trey which silenced the Tanners’ cheering section as Belmont outscored Woburn 17-6 in the quarter.
But a lack of defensive discipline with Woburn driving to the basket ended Belmont’s thrilling comeback and instead it was a return to Groundhog Day.
Boys’ Basketball Rein on Woburn
Belmont High Boys’ Hoops has found a way to beat playoff-bound Woburn: drain threes onto the Tanners.
On Friday, Feb. 2, the Marauders threw down a torrential downpour that swept aside Woburn High in a flash flood of treys as Belmont handed the 11-win Tanners a comprehensive drubbing, 85-57, in a game held at the Wenner Fieldhouse that was over at halftime.
With nine wins, Belmont is a victory away from making the Division 2 North. Woburn has dropped consecutive games (losing to Watertown on Tuesday) and stands at 11-4 as it heads to undefeated Arlington.
Belmont’s league MVP candidate Danny Yardemian led all scorers with 26 points as the Marauders completed the double against the Tanners beating Woburn last month 69-67.
Woburn guard Ryan Ludwig’s 10 points kept his team close at the end of the first, 23-17, the burgage began in earnest as Belmont put up 27 points in the second eight minutes. By the half, the led was 19, 50-31, with 30 points coming from distance with sophomore guard Mac Annus accounting for four threes from downtown. In the third, Belmont defense played its part holding the Tanners under 10 points to extend the lead to nearly 30, 70-39, entering the fourth quarter.
After selling out Belmont High’s Little Theater for both the Winter and Spring shows last year, the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company has added a second date to its winter show with performances on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3. Come once or come both nights: each show is guaranteed to be it’s own unique event, featuring games and scenes all made up on the spot based on audience suggestions.
Photo: Dan Richards.
Belmont High School Principal Daniel Richards is one of two finalists to become principal of Newburyport High School, having interviewed with the school’s staff and parents this past Thursday, Jan. 25.
The other finalist is Andrew Wulf, the administrator of teaching and learning in the Salem public schools.
The next principal of the 9-12 school with nearly 800 students will be selected by Newburyport Superintendent Susan Viccaro after reviewing the candidates’ backgrounds and taking input from staff, the search committee and residents. The final decision will be made in the next month who will replace Mike Parent, the current principal, who is retiring at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.
For nearly a decade and a half, Richards career has been centered at Belmont High, spending seven years from 2004 to 2011 as assistant principal for instruction before being named principal at Melrose High School in 2011. Richards made a surprising return to Belmont High in 2012 after then-principal Dr Michael Harvey left to become superintendent of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District. He previously worked at Peabody High and Newton South High.
Richards was a National Finalist for Assistant Principal of the Year from the Nation Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and was the Massachusetts Assistant Principal of the Year.
Photo: Belmont’s Anoush Krafian.
When Anoush Krafian runs or jumps, you can bet that most athletes are trying in vain to catch her.
At the annual Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Boys and Girls Invitational for Big Schools held Sunday, Jan. 28 at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Krafian stole the show by winning one event and was knocking on the door for another, which earned the Belmont High senior the coveted “Outstanding Performer” of the meet award.
The multi-event talent won her speciality, the 60-meter hurdles, with a dominating performance winning in 8.45 seconds, nearly two-tenths of a second in front of senior Christina Speliakos of Milford High (8.71).
Krafian wasn’t done on the afternoon as she had a go in the high jump placing second with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches, defeating three competitors with the same height but she had fewer attempts. Only a monster jump of 5 feet, 8 inches by Zoe Dainton from Hingham High School beat her out for the win.
And just for good measure, Krafian took part in the long jump, coming in a respectable 9th with a leap of 16 feet, 11 and 1/2 inches and ran the third leg in the 4×200 meter relay which finished 13th.
Krafian wasn’t the only Belmont athlete to reach the podium as sophomore Soleil Tseng took an outstanding third in the 600 meters in 1:38.55, the fastest time by a 9th or 10th grader in the event.
Photo: MassGOP logo.
Photo: Belmont freshman point guard “Kiki” Christofori driving vs. Watertown.
The Belmont High Girls’ Basketball team is playoff bound after defeating its arch rivals, Watertown High, 67-24, on Friday, Jan. 26 at the Wenner Field House.
Belmont (11-1) reached the 10-win postseason benchmark in its 11th game, the quickest the program has clinched a spot in the North Sectionals.
After a hard-fought, 69-49, victory over hosts Lexington in a rare Sunday afternoon matinee on Jan. 28, Belmont will play its toughest stretch this season as it meets a pair of one-loss teams in two critical away contests.
The Marauders meet 11-1 Wakefield on Tuesday, Jan. 30. The Warriors lost its first game of the season on Friday to Woburn by two points, 59-57. On Friday, Feb. 2, the Marauders travel to Woburn to take on the 9-1 Tanners, which Belmont came back from eight points down in the third quarter to defeat back on Jan. 2.
“It’s a big week,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart. “Playing really good teams will help us prepare for the playoffs.”
In the three games previous, Hart’s team cruised by a two-loss Melrose, 57-43, as junior guard Megan Tan led the Marauders with 12 points, 4 steals and 5 rebounds.
The warm-up to this week’s games was against teams which have been the true nemesis of the Marauders up until 2016. Watertown dumped Belmont from the playoffs in consecutive years, first in the semifinals (2015) and then the finals (2016) of the Division 2 North Sectionals. And over four years from 2013 to 2016, Belmont was 2-6 against a Lexington team with star guard Anna Kelly (who is currently enrolled at the University of Central Florida) who once scored 52 points against the Marauders.
But this year, Watertown is in a rebuilding period and Lexington can’t mesh together its good players for a complete game. Against the Raiders, a season-high 11 Marauders scored and 15 had time on the court as Belmont’s defense blanked Watertown in the third quarter. Freshmen Maiya Bergdorf led all scorers with 19 points while junior center Jess Giorgio scored her 10 points in the first six minutes of the game while pulling down 6 rebounds. Senior Ally Shapazian threw up a three and hit two from the charity stripe, juniors Breath Healey and Alex Keefe each drained threes while junior Audrey Christo knocked in a two. Watertown senior Callie McMahon’s 14 points accounted for more than half of her team’s total.
While Lexington came into the game at 3-8, its outside three-point shooting kept the game close. Down 21-13 in the second quarter, the Minutemen went on an 11-4 run before senior all-star guard Carly Christofori last-second driving bucket gave Belmont a 27-24 lead entering the second half.
In the third quarter, the Marauders relied on its veteran backcourt pairing of co-captain Christofori and junior Meghan Tan both on offense (both scoring 7 points in the frame with senior co-captains Greta Propp and Jenny Call contributing) and defense as Belmont held Lexington to 10 points to stretch its lead to 49-34 at the end of the eight minutes.
“That is a team who played better than their record,” said Hart of the Minutemen. “They scored on the shots we gave them in the first half. Can’t do that against better opponents.”
Photo: Lisa Fiore will be seeking a one-year term on the School Committee.
A resignation, a reduction in time and a decision to seek higher office could likely bring a whole new look to the Belmont School Committee this Spring. At least one full-three year seat is currently open and a partial term could become vacant after the results of the annual Town Election on April 4 are tallied.
• A move to the west coast to pursue career opportunities resulted in Murat Bicer resigning his seat.
“Yes, I will be resigning as a result of the move, and I’m planning to do that early next week to give candidates enough time to collect signatures,” Bicer told the Belmontonian, who has a year remaining in his term.
• Current Committee Chair Lisa Fiore is giving up her full three-year seat to finish the one year position made available by Bicer’s departure. The college administrator who has led the committee for the past two years told the Belmontonian last week she was leaving the committee to spend more time with her children who attend Belmont High School and the Chenery Middle School. A day later Fiore said she “decided to seek the one-year term for School Committee, and pulled papers this morning.”
“After coming to terms with not running again, it is a nice opportunity to continue to serve the town AND focus on family,” she said.
Susan Burgess-Cox, who is the committee’s secretary, has submitted her nomination papers to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman for certification. She will be seeking one of the two three-year terms up for grabs in April.
• As reported in the Belmontonian, Committee member Tom Caputo has pulled papers for a seat on the Board of Selectmen, to fill the seat currently occupied by Chairman Jim Williams. If he is successful, a joint committee of the Selectmen and the School Committee will select a replacement to fill Caputo’s remaining term which runs until April 2020.