Belmont Savings: Six Weeks to Show Support for ‘Beloved’ Piece of Belmont

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Belmont Savings Bank Foundation announced on Thursday, Sept. 11 that it will match dollar for dollar contributions to the Underwood Pool project up to $200,000. Specifically, the bank foundation has committed to contributing $200,000 which – if matched – would fully fund the remaining $400,000 needed to complete the project.

Recently, plans to rebuild Belmont’s Underwood Pool stalled after the winning bidder dropped out, potentially leaving the Belmont community without a public swimming area next summer.

“As a child, I used the pool and, subsequently, my children did as well, which is why I take pride in announcing this matching grant through our Foundation,” said Robert Morrissey, chairman of the board of directors of Belmont Savings Bank as well as the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation.

“With six weeks to go until the October deadline, it is imperative our community shows its support for this beloved piece of Belmont’s history.”

The Underwood Pool was originally constructed in 1912, and is believed to be the first public outdoor pool in the United States. Belmont had approved debt exclusion for a new pool to be built, with the grand opening originally scheduled for June 2015.

“We are grateful to our partners at Belmont Savings Bank, who understand how much Belmont residents care about the Underwood Pool, and have demonstrated a true commitment to making a positive difference in the community,” said Ellen Schreiber, who is helping lead the campaign.

“We urge businesses and individuals alike to join Belmont Savings Bank in donating by Oct. 31.”

Under the current circumstances, the Underwood Pool Building Committee was faced with redesigning and rebidding the project, in effect cancelling the pool’s summer 2015 season. The involvement of the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation enables supporters to raise the necessary funds in order to accept the current lowest bid before the upcoming October deadline.

“Supporting the rebuilding of Underwood Pool, the oldest municipal pool in the country, is one of those rare opportunities to truly help the community, and improve the quality of life for Belmont citizens,” said Bob Mahoney, president and CEO of Belmont Savings Bank.

“I am thrilled that our Foundation agreed to support the Underwood Pool, which has long been a touchstone in our town.”

Checks can be dropped off at each Belmont Savings branch. Checks should be payable to “Winn Brook PTA for the Underwood Pool” which serves as the non-profit (501c3) fiscal agent for Belmont Partners in Play.

Belmont Partners in Play is coordinating the fundraising campaign, with the total amount used exclusively for the new pool. Each donation is tax-deductible.

Checks can also be mailed to Ellen Schreiber, 49 Sandrick Road, Belmont, MA 02478.

If you have any questions, please contact Ellen at ellensch@verizon.net or 617-290-6216.

To donate online, please visit www.underwoodpool.com.

Football: Promise Amidst the Pain in 31-0 Opening Loss to Stoneham

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Belmont High School Football team’s game and the season didn’t start the way Yann Kumin had hoped.

Belmont’s head coach – his first ever in charge of a program – saw Stoneham High School recover the on-side kick on the opening kickoff under the Friday night lights on Stoneham’s forlorn grass field on Sept. 12.

“Not the way to start,” commented Kumin when the referee pointed towards Belmont’s side of the field.

Despite the hope for a big performance on the first game under a new football mindset, the Marauders stumbled in the season opener, losing 30-0 to the Spartans.

“Disappointing,” said Kumin after speaking to his team, greeting people he knew from when he was Stoneham’s associate head coach last season and receiving congratulations from Belmont Athletic Director Jim Davis.

“I’m proud of my guys. We fought and we were a discipline football team from start to finish. That’s what we wanted to be. We worked hard but we did not get the result we wanted,” he said.

What Belmont could not control was the quickness and football IQ of Stoneham which ran a variety of rushing plays that found gaps in and around Belmont’s front line. Stoneham’s players experience within a system that relies on technique and speed paid off for the Spartans as they made plays that the Marauders could not.

Kumin said the team was not beaten in the physical portion of the game “but [Stoneham] is a team with three years of really quality coaching and teaching them how to tackle. We have had three weeks of coaching so it’s going to take a little bit more time for us.”

“You have a series of bad habits that have been instilled and repeated over and over again,” said Kumin of Belmont’s  past football culture.

“So when our guys find themselves in situations where they’re ‘behind the eight-ball’, it’s easy to revert back to what they’re comfortable doing, So all we, as coaches, have to do, day-in and day-out, is to break those bad habits and get great habits in place,” he said.

Throughout the contest, Kumin and his young assistant coaching staff were either making every play – and mistake – into a teachable moment or encouraging the effort of players. And Kumin saw great promise in several aspects of the Maruaders’ game.

“The positives exist in the fact that we are capable of making mistakes and coming back and try to do good things. We moved the ball really well and by the end of the second quarter, our offense was clicking,” said Kumin.

As he was walking off the field, Kumin told a Stoneham acquaintance that “you’ll have to come next year to [Belmont’s] Harris Field and we’ll be ready for you.”

The Week to Come: Solar Power Pricing Debated Thursday, Clifford at the Library Wednesday

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• The Belmont Municipal Light Board (which is made up of the Belmont Board of Selectmen) and the Board’s Advisory Board will be holding a joint public meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium to discuss the new net metering policy which will impact resident who have existing solar power units.

• The 7th-8th Grade Book Club is meeting for the first time this school year on Monday, Sept. 15 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Young Adults Room of the Belmont Public Library to discuss Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. Let’s discuss, eat snacks and pick next month’s book. Sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• Meet one-on-one with the staff of US Rep. Katherine Clark (representing the 5th Congressional District of Massachusetts) as they hold office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Sept. 16 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

• Enjoy a free concert of music spanning three centuries with clarinetist and Belmont resident Marguerite Levin and pianist Sayuri  Miyamoto at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Tuesday, Sept. 16 beginning at 5 p.m. The concert is open to the public.

• The Belmont Book Discussion Group will discuss the masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. Everyone is welcome to attend. Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library’s Reference staff at 617-993-2870.

• The Belmont Historical Society is presenting an illustrated lecture by author Chaim M. Rosenberg on the book, “Francis Cabot Lowell: The Man Who Launched America’s Industrial Revolution” in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. 

• There will be a community blood drive at St. Joseph Parish, at the corner of School and Common streets, on Wednesday, Sept. 17 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Call 1-800-RED CROSS for more information.

• If you have a child who’s just beginning to read, it’s likely that his second favorite pet is that big, red dog Clifford. And the book character is visiting the Belmont Public Library’s Children’s Room on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m in the Assembly Room. Enjoy stories, activities, and surprises galore. Bring your camera so you can have your child’s picture taken with Clifford. Sponsored by the UFund college investing plan as part of the MEFA U.Fund Start U. Reading Series. For more information, please contact the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880.

• On the government front, the School Committee is returning from summer vacation and will meet for the first time this school year in the Chenery Middle School on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The Planning Board will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to discuss two new two-families (318 Trapelo and 13 Birch) seeking permission to build while the Board of Health is setting up shop on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m. to discuss increasing to 21 the age to purchase tobacco in Belmont as well as holding a “dog hearing” with “Diamond.”

• Al Natale and his Swing Orchestra will be performing a fundraising concert to benefit the Belmont Council on Aging for the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Thursday, Sept. 18 beginning at 7 p.m. This performance includes vocalists Sandi Bedrosian and Jim Bramante, crowd-pleasers at last year’s concert. The concert is open to the public, so bring family and friends. A suggested donation of $10

Belmont Yard Sales on Sept. 13-14

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Here are this weekend’s yard/moving/garage sales (and a free item giveaway event) happening in the 02478 zip code:

This weekend will see two large neighborhood yard sales in Belmont:

• “Shop around the Block” at several homes on Hurd, Selwyn and Oakley roads on beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. It’s so large there will be two lemonade stands. Also, there will be bundles of Martha Stewart magazines waiting to be taken away. Park in the Chenery Middle School lot off of Oakley. 

• Dozens of households are holding individual sales on Kent, Regent, Brookside, Lorimer, Mayfield and Vernon roads off Mill St.) running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13. Perennials will also be for sale at 127 Brookside Ave. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• 236 Brighton St., Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• 20 Ericsson St., Saturday, Sept. 13 and Sunday, Sept. 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• 15 Exeter St., Saturday, Sept. 13, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

• 23 Leslie Rd., Saturday, Sept. 13, 9 a.m. to noon.

• 54 Park Rd., Saturday, Sept. 13, 8 a.m. to noon.

A New Era Begins Tonight for Belmont High Football

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This is it: the start of a new era for Belmont High School Football begins tonight, Friday, Sept. 12 as new varsity head coach Yann Kumin and his young group of assistant coaches will lead a new look Marauder team to Stoneham for the season opener against Stoneham High School beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The game marks a return to Stoneham for Kumin, who matriculated at Harvard and teaches English at Cambridge’s  Matignon High School, where he was the associate head coach last season. 

The team, which finished 0-11 last season, will bring back talented sophomore Cal Christorfori as quarterback and five senior captains including Max Jones, Austin Lutz, Nick Ryan, Omar Escobar and Darren Chan.

All you need to know about this team can be found in a remarkable video made by a pair of Belmont High School students, Lucas Tragos and James Neylon.

Boys’, Girls’ Soccer: Three Wins, Three Shutouts, All Good

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Walt Whitman wrote in his collection “Leaves of Grass” of “the teeming quietest, happiest days of all!/ The brooding and blissful halcyon days!”

These are indeed the halcyon days for both of Belmont High School soccer teams. In the first three games of the new season, the teams are undefeated (3-0), scoring goals (the boys have tallied seven over that stretch while the girls are averaging a gaudy six per game) each win has been via the shutout.

And to the delight of the head coaches – the boys’ Brian Bisceglia-Kane and Paul Graham for the girls – the games has seen long stretches (sometimes the entire match) in which the Marauders have dominated possession with an aggressive brand of attacking soccer backed by a solid two-way midfield play.

In the latest pair of games, the girls’ have gone on the road to defeat Melrose, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, and Stoneham, 6-0, on Thursday, Sept. 11. The boys’ have enjoyed their stay on Harris Field’s new turf rug with victories over Melrose, 2-0, on Tuesday and a 3-0 win over Stoneham on Thursday.

“I think the group is doing a great job staying focused on what we are trying to do,” said Bisceglia-Kane after Thursday’s game where the Marauders

scored three times in the final 20 minutes of the first half.

Senior Co-Captain Norman Kilauititu scored his second goal of the year – although his best play occurred in the second half when he nearly scored from a wide bicycle kick to the thrill of the assembled girls’ team in the stands – followed by Danny Rizzo‘s 18 meter rocket set up by a wonderful series of short passing and finally Alex Berets flew by a pair of Stoneham center backs to volley David Chen‘s pass into the side of the goal. The game was the third clean sheet for senior goalkeeper Peter Berens.

Yet Bisceglia-Kane, who is in his first year as the Marauder’s head coach, said he is not concerned with the score of the games.

“I really don’t determine success by winning; you can win a game when you don’t deserve it and lose a game when you do,” he said, but rather determine success based on the goals they set for themselves before the game.

“That is how players stay focused … and allows them to work out of situations when they are down in a game,” said Bisceglia-Kane.

For the Belmont Girls’, the attacking beat goes on as six different players scored in the first 16 minutes of their game at Stoneham as the Marauders made fast work breaking down the Spartans.

But it’s not the number of goals that has impressed Graham so far this season but in the variety they are scored. Scores are coming from set pieces (corner kicks), physical scrambles in front of the net and building up from the midfield.

“This is the first year where when I put our subs in we do not go down in quality. Everyone of these kids want to play,” said Graham.

Yet Graham, who is nearing his 300th victory, is not about to proclaim this team as anything other than “good, so far.”

“Let’s put this into prospectus; we still haven’t played the better [Middlesex League] teams,” said Graham, who believe that Arlington and Lexington “are the class of the league as of right now” followed closely by the Marauders and their arch rivals Winchester.

“We are way ahead of last year’s team but I try to be a realist. I will know much more when we meet Arlington (away on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 3:45 p.m.),” said Graham.

Sold in Belmont: Polar Opposites on the Affordability Scale

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

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• 91 Richmond Rd. Classic Garrison-style Colonial (1940), Sold for: $1,110,000. Listed at $1,129,900. Living area: 2,204 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 97 days.

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• 51 Berwick St. #3. Single-floor condominium (1900), Sold for: $390,000. Listed at $365,000. Living area: 1,000 sq.-ft. 4 rooms; 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 45 days.

 

Belmont Field Hockey Rebounds Past Melrose

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The first two games of the 2014 seasons has been like night and day for the Belmont High School Field Hockey team.

It was like night when the Marauders visited defending state champions (and undefeated for more than four years) Watertown High in the season opener last Friday as the Red Raiders kept the Marauders in the dark on how to break down the four-time consecutive state champs, losing 4-0..

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the light was back on for Belmont as they celebrated playing on their newly-renovated turf field for the first time with a convincing 7-0 drubbing of Melrose High on a cool night, Sept. 10.

Where Belmont was sputtering at times against Watertown, the team – and especially the offense – was playing with all cylinders running as six players scored and everyone played.

“Things that we have been hoping would occur actually did,” said Head Coach Jessica Smith.

“I was looking for Suzanne [Noone] and Annemarie [Habelow] to work well together and they did,” said Smith pointing to the most impressive goal of the night when the senior midfielder Noone fed the high-scoring sophomore Habelow a picture perfect pass into the attacking circle that the talented 10th grader buried in the back of the net from distance.

“I’m picturing that play many times this season,” joked Smith.

Yet Smith said the win was impressive because everyone played with “a real drive” after the first-game loss.

And that determination led to a battery of goals from a slew of players. Habelow scored twice with fellow starters Noone, Kerri Lynch and Julia Chase picking up one each while subs Jacqueline Hill and Kate McCarthy each got their first goals of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Kate Saylor shared the clean sheet with backup Nicole Crowley who kicked out a breakaway attempt late in the game to preserve the shutout.

With the midfield, led by varsity veteran Noone, communicating and working together better and the defense, backstopped by Lauren Noonan and Emma Pejko, being more assertive and confidence, the team “is showing they can compete.”

“But there are a lot of teams between Watertown and Melrose in talent so I want to see how we handle teams in the middle of the group,” said Smith.

Only Eight More Market Days Left in Belmont

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There are only eight more Thursdays before the end of the Belmont Farmers Market season. Apples are starting to come in as are other fruits such pears, peaches and plums. They all are ready for canning and baking. 

The market is open today from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (note the earlier closing time) in the Belmont Municipal Parking Lot at the corner of Channing Road and Cross Street behind the Belmont Center shopping district.

This week, the guest vendors are Turtle Creek Winery, Matt’s Amazing Smokehouse, Sara Ran Away with the Spoon, Soluna Garden Farm and Bedford Blueberry Goat Farm. For a list of weekly vendors, visit the market’s Web site.

This Week’s Food Truck: It’s Benny’s Crepe Cafe, starting at 3 p.m.

In the Events Tent:

•   Bob Leger plays guitar and sings from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

•  One of Boston’s best young magicians, Ryan Lally, returns to amaze us with magic, 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

•  The Belmont Public Library sponsors storytime for preschool and older children. Denise Shaver, head of the Children’s Department, reads from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Belmont Food Pantry
Bring non-perishable items each week to the Market tent. The Market has supported the Pantry with nonperishable food collection over the years, along with donations of fresh produce from the Market’s community garden project.

SNAP Payments

The market accepts and doubles SNAP benefits (formerly called Food Stamps) up to an extra $25 per Market day while matching funds last. Your donations to our parent organization, the Belmont Food Collaborative (belmontfood.org), help with programs like this. You can donate securely on the web site, or mail a check to PO Box 387, Belmont, MA 02478. We appreciate your support!

The Market is open on Thursdays through October 30, rain or shine.

Fast Freestylers Wanted: Contact Belmont High Swimming

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All Belmont High School Girls’ Swimming Head Coach Ev Crosscup wants are a few freestyle swimmers who can quickly travel from Point A to Point B.

That would make the legendary coach happy.

After the season opening duel meet clash with powerhouse Acton-Boxborough High at the Wenner Field House Pool in Belmont, on Wednesday Sept. 10, Crosscup was clearly pleased with the overall performance of his team as the Marauders held their own against the visitors who placed fourth in last year’s Division 1 championships.

“I thought we had some real strong efforts. I was happy and pleased with that but we have to get better in some important areas,” he said, after the final score, a 96 to 87 A-B win, was announced.

And that area is the team’s current deficit in the shorter-distance freestyle events. The lack of a steady point producer in the 50 and 100 yards has been a thorn to the team’s side for the past few years and Wednesday’s opener was not an encouraging one for Belmont’s long-time coach.

“That was glaring again as it was last season,” said Crosscup, a season which Belmont took second in the Division 2 state championships.

In the 50, 100 and 200, Belmont’s highest placement was third with the remaining swimmers finishing in 5th and 6th while the 200 relay finished in the bottom

“We don’t seem to have that sprint freestyler and that killed us again today,” he said.

While the shorter free distance races didn’t go to plan, there was a nice surprise in the 500 yard free with Sara Noorouzi taking first, breaking six minutes, with a 5 minute, 50.72 second race, and bringing home the sweep as Elizabeth Levy (5:57.21) and Dervela Moore-Frederick (6:07.07) followed.

As expected, Belmont’s big hitters came through, led by junior star Jessie Blake-West who won her speciality, the 100 fly (which she won the state championship last year), already breaking 59 seconds with a 58.75 in addition to winning the 200 Individual Medley by just about 10 seconds over teammate Maya Nagashima (2:13.41 to 2:23.31).

Also showing great form was Emily Quinn who held off A-B’s Tiffany Shao – who finished second in the Div. 1 state meet last year – in the best battle of the afternoon, taking the 100 breaststroke, 1:12.28 to 1:13.93.

Blake-West and Quinn have returned to swim the 200 Medley Relay this season – the relay is the defending state championships – finishing second to A-B’s number one in 1:58.03, swimming with Solvay Metelmann and Maya Nagashima

Nagashima placed second in the 100 backstroke in a fast time of 1:04.06.

And junior Thea Kelsey scored three 8’s for her reverse dive in the pike position which help win her the 1 meter diving competition with 210 points.

“You can see the effort they are putting into their swimming. It’s a good start to the season,” said Crosscup.

Now, about those freestylers.