Tomatoes Heading Out, Apples Coming In the Belmont Farmers Market

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Photo: Apples and tomatoes.

The Belmont Farmers Market welcomes September; a month of transitions: the return to school, the change from summer to fall, the close of tomato season and the beginning of the apple harvest. 

This is the last week that the Market will remain open until 6:30 p.m. Starting next week, Sept. 10, the market will begin closing at 6 p.m. for the rest of the season.

This week also marks the return of volunteer Storytime readers, taking over from the Belmont Public Library children’s librarians who hosted the event this summer.

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the summer until the final week of October. The market is located in the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.
 
Schedule of Events
  • 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Music by Branson Bofat 
  • 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Belmont Public “Pop-up” Library
  • 3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.: Julia Lenef is a Belmont High School graduate who has played violin since 3rd grade. She plays jazz, classical, and occasionally rock.
  • 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Storytime by the Library
  • 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Activities for kids by the Mount Auburn Cemetery: Staff from the cemetery will offer a make your own butterfly activity for children of all ages. In addition, they will be distributing copies of their new “Mount Auburn Family Nature Guide,” an activity guide to explore the cemetery in all seasons. 
Monthly and occasional vendors at the market this week are:  
Coastal Vineyards, Couët Farm & Fromagerie, Seta’s Mediterranean Foods, Soup N’ Spoon.
Weekly Vendors: 
Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Fior D’Italia, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats.
Food Truck in the Belmont Center Parking Lot
Jamaica Mi Hungry 

Opinion: Time to Reset When Belmont Schools Start The Day

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Photo: Sleep deprivation among adolescents is a chronic problem across the country and here in Belmont.

By Andrea Prestwich and Steve Saar, Belmont Start School Later

For one Belmont High School senior, the beginning of the school year – which starts today, Wednesday, Sept. 2 – is a double edge sword; the excitement of their final year in the public schools is dampened in trying to stay awake to enjoy the moment. 

“It’s really difficult to maintain your focus in class when you don’t get enough sleep. Belmont High School is a great school with high standards, but it’s difficult to keep up when you’re chronically tired,” the senior said, who manages to sleep seven hours on a “good” night.

Our daughter is another example. She is a 12-year-old Chenery Middle School student who says she feels “heavy, slow, grumpy and lethargic” on most school mornings.

What’s wrong with these kids? As it turns out, NOTHING! Many – if not most – middle and high school students in Belmont struggle with chronic sleepiness as they are forced out of bed at 6:30 a.m. or earlier to get to school.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that as kids hit puberty their sleep rhythms change. They naturally fall asleep later and get up later. Asking a teen to get up at 6:30 a.m. is like asking an adult to get up at 4 a.m.; they are deep into their natural sleep cycle. Studies also show adolescents need eight-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep each night.

Depriving kids of sleep at such a crucial period of their development can lead to serious long-term health consequences, including:

  • increased risks of obesity
  • diabetes
  • hypertension
  • stroke
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • substance abuse
  • Accidents while driving.

Sleep deprivation among adolescents is a chronic problem across the country, linked to poor impulse control and self-regulation – sleepy kids make bad decisions – impairments in attention and memory and deficits in abstract thinking.

Student athletes are especially impacted by sleep deprivation. A study highlighted by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that “athletes who slept eight or more hours each night were 68 percent less likely to be injured than athletes who regularly slept less.”

The scale of the problem has been recognized by the Center for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Pediatric Nurses, the National Association of School Nurses, and the National Sleep Foundation, all endorsing later school start time, with middle and high schools opening no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

So, with just about every professional medical organization in the country endorsing later school start times, why does Belmont begin the Chenery day at 7:55 a.m. and Belmont High at 7:35 a.m?

Sometimes the reason is economics. Many schools set start times decades ago to save transportation costs by running the same busses in three cycles for the high school, middle school and elementary school. Starting schools early also leaves more time in the afternoon for athletics and other after-school activities.

The current schedule would make sense if adolescents had a “sleep mode” button, but sadly, evolution has not seen fit to equip them with one. You just can’t put teens to bed at 9:30 p.m. and expect them to go to sleep immediately and wake bright and early at 6 a.m. as the schedule is contrary to their natural sleep rhythms.

If you put teens to bed at 9:30 p.m. they will toss and turn until 11 p.m. when they will finally start to feel drowsy. The adage “early to bed and early to rise” doesn’t apply to adolescents; they are creatures of the night!

So why not change Belmont to a healthier, later schedule? First, there’s a widespread belief that if schools start later kids will stay up later. This is not true. A landmark study looked at 18,000 high school students in Minneapolis before and after the district’s school start time changed from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. The main conclusion was that high school students slept an hour longer on average when their school started later. They went to bed at the same time as before the time change and slept longer. 

Athletics is another consideration. Currently, schools in the Middlesex League have early starting times. If Belmont were to shift to a healthier, later schedule, our athletes would be out of sync with the rest of the league. Practice times would also have to change, possibly causing a ripple effect and impacting youth groups who use the same facilities.

Other barriers to a later schedule include the need to re-think before- and after-school programs and the impact on some kids with part-time jobs. 

There are certainly obstacles to shifting Belmont High and the Chenery to start later but none is insurmountable. For example, bus schedules could be reversed so that Winn Brook starts first at around 7:45 a.m., then the High School just after 8:30 a.m., Wellington, and Chenery later. Elementary school kids are usually up with the larks, bouncing on their beds – they have sleep rhythms naturally suited to an earlier start. 

Start School Later has local chapters across Massachusetts working for later start times, and we are working with Massachusetts legislators. Hopefully, Belmont will join other districts as they shift times.

Even though there are difficulties in changing school start times, it is not acceptable for our kids to be sleep deprived, any more than it is acceptable for them to go without food or any other life necessity. And sleep is a necessity of life. Our kids should start the school day well fed and rested. The current start times make this impossible.

School districts around the country have shifted to healthier schedules with very positive results: kids are more alert and less grumpy, there are lower rates of tardiness and fewer missed school days. They arrive at school ready to learn.

We ask Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan and the Belmont School Committee follow the recommendations and shift Belmont schools to healthier schedules.

 

They’re Back! First Day of School in Belmont Wednesday, Sept. 2

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Photo: Crossing the street at the Burbank. 

Remember the alarm clock? It probably hasn’t been heard since the last week in June; but starting today, it returns as a weekday companion for parents and children as Wednesday, Sept. 2, marks the first day of school in Belmont for student in 1st through 12th grades.

Kindergarten students get to sleep in for a week, as the youngest Belmont students start on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 8 and 9.

Belmont High School starts at 7:35 a.m.; Chenery Middle School at 7:55 a.m.; the Burbank, Butler and Wellington elementary schools at 8:40 a.m.; and the Winn Brook at 8:50 a.m. 

For school hours, the school-year calendar, bus routes, lunch menus, and more information, go to www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bps/

With students being greeted by temperatures reaching the lower 90s on both days – and with several schools lacking adequate air conditioning – school officials are suggesting students come to school with water and stay hydrated.

On these first two days of the 2015-16 year – the six Belmont public schools will be closed Friday, Sept. 4 through Monday, Sept. 7 for the Labor Day holiday – Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan is asking for parents and students to be safe and patient.

Phelan said due to street closures and road construction throughout the town, drivers learning new routes and parents giving long goodbyes to children on their first days, buses will likely be delayed. 

Parents driving their children to school along with students driving to Belmont High School are also being asked to be patient while each school’s administration works out the kinks of their drop-off and pick-up plans.

In addition, Phelan and the Belmont Police are asking all drivers “to be mindful of our students who are walking or biking to school.”  

“The sidewalks, streets,  and parking lots will be congested and we want to make sure all can share the road safely,” said Phelan. 

Beginning this year following a suggestion by Phelan, the district has adopted a pre-Labor Day opening to the school year. Phelan hopes starting school for two days, followed by the four-day Labor Day holiday and four days of school “will facilitate a smooth transition for our children.”

“This gradual start will give our students a chance to meet their teachers this week, find out expectations for the year, and set up their school routines,” said Phelan in his opening day memo sent to parents and teachers.

“Then, hopefully, they can spend the four-day weekend stress-free and return to school Tuesday refreshed and prepared to learn,” he noted.

Medal of Honor Recipients To Speak At Belmont High Sept. 16

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Photo: Clint Romesha, a Medal of Honor recepient, will speak at Belmont High School.

The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military honor, awarded for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. The actions by the soldiers, sailors and airmen to earn this award is heroic in every possible way.

Of the approximately 3,670 military personnel whom the medal has been bestowed since the Civil War, only about 79 are living today. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 16, three men who were awarded this highest military honor –  Tom Norris, a Navy SEAL who fought in Vietnam, Clint Romesha, a soldier from the Afghan War and Donald Ballard, a Navy Corpsman from the Vietnam War – will speak to mostly sophomores at Belmont High School about themselves and the courage, commitment and sacrifice they demonstrated.

“This is a really rare and unusual experience for our students and we are honored to have been selected,” said Deb McDevitt, the Belmont Public School’s social studies director and teacher at the High School. 

The honorees will arrive by helicopter around 8:45 a.m. and speak to the students from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., McDevitt told the Belmontonian. 

As part of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Conference being held this month in Boston, the society conducts outreach programs at area schools “to share their stories with students and educate the public with all the things they are able to do and lessons they learned,” said McDevitt.

The society connected with Belmont High School through an alumnus who is one of the 79 living recipients. Robert Foley (graduate ’59), who was awarded his medal for actions during his service in the Vietnam conflict, is unable to attend the conference but suggested his alma mater as one of the schools on the speakers list. 

“They contacted me to see if we would be willing to host and welcome these speakers and I immediately said ‘Of course!'” said McDevitt. “It was no question that we would do this.” 

The sophomore class was selected to hear from the men as the talk dovetails with the curriculum 10th graders are studying in General American History. 

“One of the essential questions we focus our whole year around is what’s America’s place in the world,” said McDevitt.

“When they hear these stories at the beginning of the year, students are going to have a much richer understanding of the wars the nation fought and the relationships and alliances we’ve had with other countries. This will ground their studies with real-life meaning for all the work they’ll be doing for the rest of the year,” McDevitt said.

Detour: Road Work to Impact Belmont Center for Week

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Photo: Big machines taking apart the Concord Avenue roadway. 

For the remainder of the week – which includes the first day of school and the beginning of the Labor Day getaway – Belmont Center will be a good place to actively avoid.

Beginning Monday Aug. 31 and lasting until Friday, Sept. 4, General Contractor Charles Contracting will begin road pulverization and full-depth reconstruction for

  • a portion of Concord Avenue, westbound  between the Leonard Street and the Belmont Police headquarters on Pleasant Street, and
  • along Leonard Street from Alexander Avenue southbound towards the underpass. 

During construction, the roadways will be closed between 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Detours around the work site will be in effect at these times.  After 4 p.m., typical traffic flow will be restored and the road will be made passable.

For any questions or concerns about the project please contact Robert Bosselman, resident engineer in the Belmont Office of Community Development, at 617-993-2657.

Screen Shot 2015-08-31 at 4.09.14 PM

Cushing Square Municipal Lot Closing for Good in Fortnight

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Photo: The municipal lot in Cushing Square. 

A long-time landmark in parking scarce Cushing Square will soon disappear as Belmont Police announced Monday, Aug. 31, the closing of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Trapelo and Williston roads.

The lot, which serves neighborhood businesses, shoppers, overnight parking and commuters, will shut down in the next two weeks, said the release.

Police note that 50 underground spaces reserved for municipal use will be available to the public when the project nears completion in 18 months. 

The closure is due to the start of construction of the Cushing Village construction project, the long-delayed 167,000 sq.-ft. multi-use development that will occupy the lot, the location of the former S. S. Pierce store building at the intersection of Common Street and Trapelo Road and the former CVS site at Common and Belmont Street. 

After the lot is closed, area businesses that purchased town-issued monthly parking passes in the lot “will be allowed to park in the Cushing Square area free from time restrictions on parking with the exception of the following roads: Trapelo and Horne roads and Common Street. 

Belmont Police will work closely with businesses and residents to minimize the impact of an increase in vehicles in the surrounding neighborhoods. The department will rely on a similar plan in place during the reconstruction of the municipal lot in Waverley Square last year. 

Questions can be directed to Belmont Police Traffic Sgt. Ben Mailhot at 617-993-2538.  

This Week: First Day of School Wednesday! Mad Science and Ice Cream Friday

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Photo: A bit of mad science at the Beech Friday.

On the government side of “This Week.”

  • Board of Selectmen will hold one of its shortest public meetings in years on Monday, Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. before heading into executive session.
  • Temporary Net Metering Working Advisory Committee will be dotting i’s and crossing t’s as it finalizes its report to the Belmont Light Board on Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. 
  • Belmont Board of Health is meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at Town Hall.

• Pre-School Summer Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings can join with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.

• Come out to Harris Field at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 to watch the Belmont High Boys Soccer team scrimmage against Wayland.

• The Belmont High School PTO is meeting for the first time this school year on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room.

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which will take place in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 0n Tuesday, Sept. 1.

• The first day of the 2015-16 Belmont School Year is Wednesday, Sept. 2, for 1st through 12th graders. 

• Sustainable Belmont is meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• A strong Belmont Girls Swimming team, runners-up in the past two state Division 2 championships, will scrimmage Division 1 powerhouse Chelmsford High at the Higgenbottom at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

• Want to see the Belmont High’s new basketball/volleyball court in action? Belmont Volleyball will scrimmage Wayland in the (unairconditioned) Wenner Field House at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.

• The Beech Street Center is holding an Ice Cream Social & Mad Science Extravaganza beginning at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 4.

  • 1:30 p.m.: Ice Cream Social with ice cream from Rancatore’s.
  • 2:30 p.m.: Mad Science® of Greater Boston science show for children of all ages.

Bring the kids for this intergenerational fun event.

• The Benton Library, Belmont’s independent library, is open on the first Friday evening of every month. On Friday, Sept. 4, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., come by the Benton on the way home or after dinner. Get a free library card if you don’t have one already. Explore the collection. Select some of our gently used sale books; all proceeds benefit the library.

Belmont Yard Sales, Aug. 29-30

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Photo: Yard sale in Belmont.

Yard sales in the “Town of Homes.”

• Belmont Street at Oakley Road; Saturday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 19 Bradley Rd., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 19 Burnham St., Sunday, Aug. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 72 Chester Rd., Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 and 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 165 Clifton St., Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29 and 30, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 77-79 Fairview Ave., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• 129 Waverley St., Saturday, Aug. 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 16 Unity Ave., Saturday, Aug. 29,  9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sold in Belmont: Easy as Ones, Twos and a Three

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Photo: A split-level ranch in the Winn Brook neighborhood sold for nearly 12 percent of its original list price.

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes.”

9-11 Sabina Way. Two-family (1923). Sold: $880,000. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 2,520 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 63 days.

218-220 Blanchard Rd. Multi-family (1952). Sold: $900,000. Listed at $849,000. Living area: 2,520 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 42 days.

63 Country Club Ln. New construction (2014). Sold: $2,050,000. Listed at $2,475,000. Living area: 4,824 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 225 days.

14-16 Vincent Ave. Multi-family (1910). Sold: $860,000. Listed at $895,000. Living area: 3,090 sq.-ft. 15 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 70 days.

65 Marlboro St. Three-family (1900). Sold: $875,000. Listed at $849,000. Living area: 3,216 sq.-ft. 14 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 42 days. 

199 Beech St., #2. Walk-up condominium (1924). Sold: $391,000. Listed at $429,000. Living area: 868 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 106 days.

115 Lexington St. Colonial (1925). Sold: $625,000. Listed at $699,000. Living area: 1,682 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 139 days.

55 Sherman St. Split-level ranch (1955). Sold: $907,000. Listed at $799,000. Living area: 1,840 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 139 days.

306 Orchard St., #2. Condominium (1900). Sold: $455,000. Listed at $435,000. Living area: 1,525 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 70 days.

I think it comes as a surprise to many people when they discover that Belmont’s housing stock is far from being a homogeneous collection of Colonials and brick mansions. 

Unlike outlying surburban locations such as Wilmington where 93 percent of the housing stock is the typical single-family house, just under half (45 percent) of Belmont’s 9,600 residential structures are detached homes, with an almost equal number being multifamilies.

This past week, more than half of the sales in the “Town of Homes” were multifamilies including one three-unit building or a condo in a two or greater unit building. It appears the market for multis is healthy as all but one of the buildings sold for more than its list price. 

On the single-family side of the week, the owners of the split-level on Sherman Street stuck to their guns (leaving their house on the market for nearly four months) and saw a nice bump of nearly 12 percent from their list price. Twenty years ago, the term split-level was a deal breaker for many buyers as the style was considered old-fashion and the structures cheaply constructed. Not now.

Tomatoes and Cupcakes Headline Market Day in Belmont

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Photo: Tomatoes at their peak. 

The best time of the year to enjoy ripe tomatoes is now. Market Day in Belmont this Thursday, Aug. 27, features late August harvest that includes blueberries, cantaloupe, corn, eggplants, peaches, peas, peppers, raspberries, summer squash, watermelon and many variations of tomatoes. 

This week’s tasting is by Yum Bunnies Cakery. Located at 241 Belmont St., Yum Bunnies offers custom cakes and cupcakes: You choose your cake flavor and filling. Voted “BEST Birthday Cakes” for two years running by the Boston AList, the cakery reminds you to “Eat your cake & have it be cute too!” 

The Belmont Farmers Market is open from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays throughout the summer until the final week of October. The market is located in the municipal parking lot at the intersection of Cross Street and Channing Road in Belmont Center.
 
Schedule of Events
  • 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Tasting by Yum Bunnies Cakery
  • 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Belmont Public “Pop-up” Library
  • 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Storytime by the Library
  • 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Music by the Sandy Ridge Boys
Monthly and occasional vendors at the market this week are:  
Carlisle Honey, Fille de Ferme Jams, Turtle Creek Winery, Underwood Greenhouses.
Weekly Vendors: 
Boston Smoked Fish Co., C&C Lobsters and Fish, Dick’s Market Garden Farm, Fior D’Italia, Flats Mentor Farm, Foxboro Cheese Co., Gaouette Farm, Goodies Homemade, Hutchins Farm, Kimball Fruit Farm, Mamadou’s Artisan Bakery, Nicewicz Family Farm, Sfolia Baking Company, Stillman Quality Meats.
Food Truck in the Belmont Center Parking Lot

Jamaica Mi Hungry