Photo: Counting teams preparing to for the Belmont Town Moderators recount in 2025

You hear it in every election: ‘Every vote counts.’

And that certainly was the case in the race for the Middlesex and Suffolk state senate seat, where the two candidates in the Democratic primary enter the weekend seperated by the narrowest of margins.

After a topsy-turvey day which saw the lead in the race swiched hands and neither candidate able to pull away, first time challenger Daniel Lander leads incumbent Will Brownsberger by four votes out of approximately 24,000 total ballots tallied.

With the results easily within the state’s threshold for a recount, the outcome between the election nyophite Lander and Beacon Hill veteran Brownsberger will be decided next Thusday, Sept. 10, when ballots will be recounted by volunteers in the four communities – Belmont, Watertown, Cambridge and several Boston neighborhoods – that makes up the district.

And the recall will not simply an exercise of re-reading ballots that have already been counted. Cushman said the town is holding seven uncounted ballots as pervisional as the voter’s party afflictation had not been determined on election night. And Boston reported to have several paper ballots that were damaged when processed through the scanners.

According to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, the recount will need to be completed by Friday, Sept. 11, with the updated results presented to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office by 5 p.m.

Both candidates filed for a recount by the Thursday, Sept. 3 3 p.m. deadline with Brownsberger handing in his petition early to Cushman with Lander’s signatures coming in by the afternoon.

Cushman said the next step in the recall will be boundling the ballots into groups of 50 which will make it more efficient to collect and count. On Thursday, Cushman was calling for volunteers to be examiners who will determine which candidate a voter had selected.  

Cushman’s team has recent experience with recalls, including the Town Moderator in 2025.

The recount of nearly 6,000 votes will be conducted at card tables in the Town Hall auditorium by a two-person “counting team” with a reader facing a ‘calculator’. who will tally the votes. The candidates were allowed an observer at each table who an challenge any ballot they feel is incorrectly tabulated. The town’s Board of Registers will judge all disputed ballots.

With clerks and town officials, the auditorium could see 100 people squeezed into the second floor space.

After each 50 ballot bundle is complete, the results will be brought to a table where the Registers will tally the numbers. When all the bundles are counted, a final Belmont vote count will be announced.

The town’s experience with the Town Moderator recall should allow the process to move quickly along, said Cushman.

Photo: The Belmont Select Board honors the Belmont High Girls: (from left) Select Board Chair Taylor Yates, Head Coach Kate McCabe players Adele Goho, Nina Lind, Serena Field, and LeeLee Kozelian with board members Carol Berberian and Matt Taylor.

For this one time, there’s actually no word that describes the accomplishments of the Belmont High School Girls Varsity Rugby team.

“I’ve heard of repeat champs. I’ve heard of repeat, repeat champs. I don’t know what the word is for an eight times champion,” said Taylor Yates, the chair of the Select Board commemorating the girls’ rugby team’s eighth consecutive title after the team defeated Weymouth High School, 36 to 24, in the 2026 MIAA Division I girls rugby state championship on June 11 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy,

“One of the things that we do here at the select board is recognize exceptional achievements, accomplishments, and contributions by members of our community. And I’d like to congratulate on behalf of the select board, the girls rugby team,” said Yates.

Juniors Adele Goho, Nina Lind, Serena Field, and LeeLee Kozelian joined long-time head coach Kate McCabe in accepting the proclamation from the town.

Part of the citation reads:

“You have set a high standard of excellence, commitment, and dedication, which the youth of our town may follow, and you serve as an inspiration to the citizens of the town of Belmont.”

“The student athletes, coaches, families, and supporters of Belmont’s girls rugby have demonstrated commitment, dedication, perseverance, and pride in representing Belmont High School and the town of Belmont, now therefore it be resolved that the Select Board of the town of Belmont joins with the community in paying tribute to the Belmont High School Girls Varsity Rugby Team for this outstanding achievement.”

Photo: Leon Dyer

A well-known Belmont Middle School educator will be arraigned Monday, July 27, on two counts of possession of images of child abuse in Cambridge District Court.

According to a press release from the Massachusetts State Police, Leon Dyer, 45, of Belmont was arrested Saturday, July 25, following an investigation by the State Police Cyber Crime Unit’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Crime Scene Services and the Belmont Police Department.

The investigation remains active, according to law enforcement. 

In a message to the community, Belmont Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jill Geiser said the district’s “primary concern, as always, is the well-being and safety of students. We have no information at this time to suggest that this individual engaged in any inappropriate conduct with BPS students, on BPS property, or otherwise in connection with his employment with BPS.”

Geiser said Dyer is not permitted on school property, and his school-issued technology accounts have been suspended.

“We are working with the Belmont and State Police and will share information with the BPS community whenever we are able. We aim to be as transparent as possible throughout this process,” she said.

One month shy of his 19th anniversary with the district, the Ohio native spent his entire career at the Belmont Middle School. A popular technology teacher, Dyer lent his time running extracurriculars; the best known of these was the yearly eighth grade class trip to Washington, DC. 

Dyer was described as a jack of all trades in the district: he worked as the district’s athletic department’s equipment manager, helped edit the middle and high school yearbooks, assisted in running the student council, and established the middle school’s soapbox derby team. In the winter quarter, Dyer would be on the road most weekends managing wrestling tournaments in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region. He singlehandedly pulled off the Brendan Grant Memorial Wrestling Tournament, which had its most successful meet with 23 teams and 650 athletes in January.

Dyer has been active with the Belmont Educators Association, the teachers and instructors union, working his way into a senior leadership role. He would spend his summers working at a camp in Middleboro. 

The reaction among fellow teachers was one of shock and disbelief.

“It’s just so sad,” said an educator. 

Photo: Belmont High celebrates its 14-9 victory in the opening game of the MIAA D1 Girls Lacrosse tournament.

There’s a moment in every game when your quality players need to step up.

That moment in Belmont’s opening round MIAA Division 1 contest held Thursday, May 28, came late – really late – in the contest, as the 14th-ranked Marauders were potentially seeing their 13-win season turning sour on them. In the ultimate quarter, underdog Waltham High had climbed back from a four-goal deficit to cut the lead to one at 10-9. With the ball in their possession with three minutes remaining in the game, the visiting Hawks were a score away from tying the playoff game. With all the momentum behind it and a large, loud group of traveling supporters, the 19th seed could imagine its way to the next round.

“[Waltham] was gritty, hard-fought, and they made some plays in the final quarter,” said Belmont Head Coach Dan O’Brien. “I think defensively we lost track of some cutters, and we weren’t communicating as well as we should. They finished their shots, which was a concern late in the game.”

Just when it was needed, Belmont’s elite athletes showed up. As the Hawks drove to the net, Belmont senior goalie Brooke Whalen deflected a shot off a loose ball heading for the goal, and she laid the ball off to junior Lily Cook, who used her exceptional speed to whiz by a half dozen defenders into the offensive zone. A nasty hack at Cook after a penalty was called saw Waltham pick up a yellow card, giving the Marauders a two-minute player advantage.

“I’m not going to lie. That yellow [card] really helped us,” said O’Brien.

As Belmont rotated the ball around the goal from Senior Sydney Mun to junior Ruth Siegert, who had been an offensive force early, the Waltham defenders lost containment of Belmont’s MVP Niamh Lesnik, who was left standing alone 10 meters dead center from Waltham goalie Leah France.

There was no doubt about Lesnik’s power shot: high right beyond France’s desperate lunge. 11-9. Game over.

“I just felt that I was open,” said Lesnik, who finished with seven of Belmont’s 14 goals. “Sometimes throughout the season I feel like I would take the extra steps and try to get closer, but I just felt with all the space that I had, I just better let this one rip, and hopefully it goes in. It did, so I was very happy.”

With the Hawks picking up a second yellow card, Belmont punished the visitors with three unanswered goals – two from Lesnik and one from Mun – to finish off their gritty cross-border rival, 14-9.

“It wasn’t our best game, but we found a way to win it and execute,” said O’Brien. 

On Monday, June 1, Belmont (14-5) travels to Concord to meet 3rd-ranked Concord-Carlisle High (16-3) in the D1 Sweet 16 matchup. The game gets underway at 4:30 p.m. at Memorial Field, Concord.

 Belmont could not find its shooting or any rhythm. The star of the first quarter was Waltham’s France who stopped 10 of 12 shots – many of them penalty shots – in the first quarter alone, ending with 27 saves.

The second quarter saw it build its lead by keeping possession of the ball like Gollum did the One Ring, with Waltham crossing the midfield line only twice. Maddie Tisdale collected a pair in the quarter, with Ellie Siegert putting in a single. But Waltham would stay close, scoring with five seconds remaining in the half to cut Belmont’s advantage to three, 6-3. 

Belmont would score four early in the second half – a brace for both Lesnik and Ruth Siegert – to go up 10- 6, late in the quarter..

“I think a lot of teams scout for Lesnik, but I think what’s great about our team is that we’re so balanced on attack,” said Ruth Siegert. “I think that really opened up many cuts for me, so that opened up a lot of opportunities for assisting goals as well.”

But Waltham would chip away behind Mia Kearney’s three goals, leading to the drama at the game’s end. 

Photo:

The weekly Belmont Farmers Market turns 21 this year as the yearly community event brings nearly 50 vendors to the Claflin Street Parking Lot from the first week in June to the final week in October.

Opening day will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, behind Leonard Street in Belmont Center. The market is open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. through September and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in October.

Patrons will again come for a familiar array of veggies and fruit, baked goods, meat and fish, beer and wine, and other sundries, said Market Chair Hal Shubin.

Yet the market is not just a place to find locally sourced goods. It also helps relieve the ever growing level of food insecurity in Belmont. Stubein reported that 720 households representing 1,121 residents are using SNAP benefits, which used to be called food stamps. 

“But we think there are far more people” who are impacted by the lack of nutritious food, said Stubein at the April 27 Select Board meeting setting this year’s market dates.

The farmers market has been pushing actions to solve the issue. For more than two decades, the market has been asking vendors to donate unsold produce and other products to organizations – such as Arlington’s Food Link – that distribute it to agencies in Greater Boston. In 2009 the Farmers Market incorporated as the Belmont Food Collaborative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that assists in fundraising and education.

The market also has several direct assistance programs, such as matching federal SNAP benefits, which provides customers an extra $25 a week. The collaborative also provides funding that boosts the state’s HIP assistance program, known in Belmont as HIP Plus. Last year, all the benefit programs helped stretch patrons’ food budgets by more than $71,000, funds obtained from fundraising, grants, sponsorships, and direct donations from patrons and residents.

“We do [all] that because we believe that it’s important that everyone have enough healthy food to eat,” said Stubin.

Photo: Poster for this year’s Books In Bloom

Explore floral interpretations of books, sip wine, enjoy bites to eat and live music at the Belmont Public Library as the Friends of the Belmont Public Library and the Belmont Garden Club invite the public to Books In Bloom, a one-of-a-kind evening celebrating floral art, books, and community on Friday, May 8, from 6 p.m.to 9 p.m..

Wander through the newly-constructed library and discover floral arrangements inspired by beloved books, each a unique creation designed and donated by the talented members of the Garden Club. Sip and swirl at a wine tasting hosted by The Spirited Gourmet, munch on light refreshments, and enjoy live music. Whether a book lover, a flower enthusiast, or simply looking for a wonderful night out, this is an evening not to be missed.

Tickets are $30, available in advance online or at the door.

Proceeds from the tickets support programs of the Belmont Public Library. For more information or to become a Friends of the Library member, visit About FOBPL.

Photo: A draft of the flyer announcing the March 30 workshop for the Brighton Street Planning and Zoning Project

Less than a month after successfully marshaling Town Meeting support to approve the creation of the Belmont Center and Gateway Overlay Districts on March 4, the town is moving quickly to replicate a simular plan for the corner of Brighton Street and Hittinger streets and in and around the Hills Estate.

“Your Voice Matters” proclaims the flyer announcing the first workshop of the Brighton Street Planning and Zoning Project which is set for Monday, March 30 in the Belmont Public Library’s McLaughlin Room. Sponsored by the Town and Able.City, the meeting will beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday’s virtual Select Board meeting was a preliminary planning session in preparation of the March 30 meeting.

Conor McCormack, Belmont’s Planning Division Manager, said the upcoming planning session is “the next step” in the process, following a public survey conducted by Harvard University Kennedy School students, and the Planning Board adopting a vision plan for the area.

As with the Belmont Center Overlay, Able.City will manage the public process, using the same techniques used previously in the center, said Jason King, a partner with Able.City East, the same consulting firm which patched together the Center and Gateway’s form-based design.

Public surveys, postcards to abutters and the surrounding neighborhood, as well as the opportunity for residents to be placed in an email “blast” will be used to bring out the community to the workshop.

The event will be a listening session, similar to a charrette, where all stakeholders will be asked how they resolve conflicts and map solutions. “It will also be an opportunity to provide [the public] an overview of a Brighton Street vision plan, and everything that’s been done before,” said McComack, as it will resemble the same setup as the Belmont Center and Gateway Overlays with charts, renderings of designs, and plenty of conversations with the town, consultants, and residents.

“The workshop will be the start to gather feedback from the public on what they see, and what they want to see in the future of Brighton Street,” said McCormack.

To obtain a good sample, the town is reaching out to the public to attend the meeting.

“We want to make sure folks in the community and particularly in the Brighton Street neighborhood are aware of this,” said McCormack. The town plans to send informational postcards to residents and property owners and allow neighbors to be placed on an email “blast.”

A day or two after the workshop, Able.City will hold several focus groups of approximately 15 participants at Belmont Town Hall with targeted stakeholders such as large property owners 

“Typically we would start the meeting with an overview of why we’re there, what we heard last night,” said Pamela King of Able.City. “Then we ask them for more specific feedback based on the topic of the meeting, to get the more detailed [suggestions] from them.” 

“We have a pretty good playbook,” said McCormack.

Photo: Santa in Belmont

Christmas is a day of gift-giving and reflecting on cheerful times from past years around the tree, before decamping to the dinner table to watch the latest holiday movie on the Hallmark Channel and professional sports contests – although the Celtics will be absent playing on Christmas for the first time in a decade – or just relaxing with family and friends.

For those who don’t celebrate the day, several fine Chinese restaurants will be open – Number One Taste on Trapelo Road with a limited menu – and movies are premiering on the big screen on Christmas: Timothée Chalamet’s latest, ‘Marty Supreme,’ opens today, Jack Black and Paul Rudd star in “Anaconda,” while Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson headline a true story about two down-on-their-luck performers who form a Neil Diamond tribute band in “Song Sung Blue.”

Thursday trash and recycling pickup will be pushed forward to Boxing Day, Friday, Dec. 26.

And if you have a “need” to get out of the house, here are a few places around town open on Christmas:

Christmas Day

Dunkin’

• The Dunkin’ at 353 Trapelo Rd. will operate from 4 a.m. until 6 p.m.
• The 52 Church St. location in Waverley Square will be open from 4 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• 350 Pleasant St. will be open from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Starbucks

• The “Cushing Village” location at 110 Trapelo Rd. will be open from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.

CVS Pharmacy

• The store at 264 Trapelo Rd. will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• The operation at 60 Leonard St. in Belmont Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas.
• The pharmacies on Trapelo Road and Belmont Center will be closed.

Star Market

• Belmont’s supermarket, located at 535 Trapelo Rd., is closed for the holiday.

If you are looking to get around on the MBTA:

• The Fitchburg/South Acton Commuter Line will operate on a weekend schedule, and buses in Belmont will also operate on a Sunday schedule.

Photo: Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee Chair Mark Haley speaking before the Belmont Special Town Meeting

The new Belmont Sports Complex is not just coming in on budget, but is ready to open its doors earlier than originally scheduled.

OK, it’s pushing the official opening up by one day, and there’s going to be plywood instead of the thick exterior windows – the frames for the glass are just arriving. But the ice surface is in place and the complex is ready to welcome skaters and ice hockey players onto the newest rink in eastern Massachusetts.

In a presentation to the Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22, Municipal Skating Rink Building Committee Chair Mark Haley could hardly contain his excitement to announce the $32 million facility is just days away from coming to life.

“The Belmont Sports Complex is going to be a reality within 10 days,” said Haley to the applause of the members. Haley said the building is scheduled to receive in the next week a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy from the town which allows the new 40,300-square-foot skating rink to be used before all construction is finished, provided it is safe for partial occupancy. 

“If everything goes well, we’ll be able to rent ice come the third of November,” said Haley.

Haley also presented a video from the interior of the facility, providing a tour of the rink as well as a flyover to witness the partial installation of the 26,000 sq.-ft. of solar panels on the roof.

The opening day celebration will now occur on Saturday, Nov. 15, a day earlier than originally planned. The festivities will begin at 1 p.m. with a dedication, and then an open house with free, open skate for two hours.

“We want the community to come and enjoy this new facility,” said Haley. “It takes a village to complete a project of this type, and the village we have here is the town of Belmont.”

Across Concord Avenue from the rink, the public can tell the new Belmont Public Library is getting closer to completion is that the sidewalks have been laid along the building. Where the rink’s windows have yet to be installed, the library’s broad glass fracade reveils the nearly complete interior with stairwells and the large open space of the main lobby.

“I think you’ve all been witnessing the progress, and we are close,” said Clair Colburn, chair of the Library Building Committee, who made her presentation to the Town Meeting before Haley. “We’re really at the finish line.” And they are crossing that line with a little extra in their pockets as the project is coming in “significantly under budget” with any savings to be “given back to the town to reduce the debt and the final borrowing for the project,” said Colburn, to her own members applause.

In a few week, most of the library’s collection will come out of storage and be move into their new home when “substantial completion of construction” will occur, said Colburn. A soft opening for the public is scheduled for January 8, 2026, with a community grand opening on Saturday, January 10, with the snow date for the next day.

Photo: Belmont High’s Elizabeth Guevara heads towards victory in the 100 fly vs. Wakefield

After a recent meet, an official declared Belmont High Swimming Head Coach Lulu Emmons to be “the Queen of the Deep Sweep.” In swimming, a “deep sweep” is when a team’s athletes place in the top spots in each event. Even if they don’t win, for example, placing in the next three spots throughout a meet can be a back-breaker for an opponent. 

And Belmont has some bittersweat history involving “deep sweeps”: Ten years ago, despite winning five events to one, Belmont could not match the depth of Bishop Feehan High School which went on to win the 2015 Div. 2 state championship over the Marauders, 314 to 293.

So Emmons is happy to have the title bestowed on her.

“The depth that we have this year is absolutely amazing. I have not had this depth since my first couple years of coaching as an assistant,” said Emmons, who has been on the Marauders coaching staff for eight years, the past four in the top post.

That depth showed up in Belmont’s upset victory over defending Division 1 state champions Acton Boxoborough, beating the traditional powerhouse 98-88, at Higginbottom Pool on Sept. 19.

“That was exciting. That was a lot of fun. Girls did great. And that was unexpected, because we were coming right off of a tough loss against Lexington,” said Emmons, a four point nailbiter.

Belmont currently holds a 4-1 dual meet record.

That ability to have runs of high placements is due to size and commitment of Emmons’ squad, numbering more than 50 student athletes which allows Belmont to carry a full varsity squad including three divers and also a JV squad.

“But we try not to use those terms,” said Emmons of two seperate squads. Rather, she tries to have everyone see themselves as “being maroon and blue,” because she want everyone to feel like they’re contributing and being part of the team, she said.

The quality shows as more than 10 swimmers have qualified for the Division 2 sectional championship meet including eight who qualified in the first meet of the season.

“So right off the bat, we were locked in, plus all of our relays have qualified. Most girls have at least two events that they qualify. So we have at least 10 athletes that have qualified for one or more of their events. We’re still working on a couple of those state cut times, but we have got a squad going.”

Every good team requires at least one swimmer who can hit the wall first. This year’s highlight reel includes senior Elizabeth Guevara, who is swimming for Belmont for the first time this year. Coming from the club swimming system with Revolution Aquatic, Guevara has state qualified in all the free style events at 50, 100 and 200 yards. Her versibility shows in qualifying in the 100 butterfly, the 100 backstroke, and Emmons believes she might have a time for the 500 yard free.

“She has everything to be a great swimmer,” said Emmons, being very humble, a great athlete who takes good direction. “Even though she is one of the top swimmers, [Guevara] hasn’t been on this team for that long, so she understands that she’s still earning her spot on the team,” said Emmons.

On the other end of the grade level is first year diver Maggie Han, who qualified for states and leads a full contingency of 1-meter divers – including Grace Fagan and Cecilla Held – into contests.

And the heart of the team is its junior class “which is one of our strongest across the board,” said Emmons. “Summing Chan (back-stroke), Karen Tao (freestyle), Reina Yano (500 free), Sophia Bufano, Ahana Shama (breast-stroke) are all phenomenal swimmers. All have qualifying times.”

Belmont will be tested in two very tough league dual meets remaining in the league schedule: Winchester on Monday, Oct. 6 at Higgenbottom and away to Reading, Oct. 16 to finish the season.

“I know that Reading and Winchester has a couple of good girls. But I’m feeling really confident that those are both going to be pretty winnable meets,” said Emmons. “My thought process is always put up a strong lineup, always making sure that even if I’m not going to get a first place finish, I’m going to work and get a second, third, fourth place, or some variation of that, because it’s those depth points that really count. They really add up.”

Following the duel meet season, Belmont heads to the Middlesex League Championships at Bentley with high expectations.

“My top goal is to win,” said Emmons, knowing she has the upper hand gooing into the meet as diving results will be included in the team totals. “because now that diving counts towards the meat, “That’s an automatic for a second, third place finish for us. So we’re going in with at least 100 points.” But Emmons will be there to prove that her team is not just relying on the meet’s first event. “My goal is to definitely get Lexington at League’s because I firmly believe that my girls have the ability to beat that team. So the goal is to beat Lexington and win by more than 100 points.”

The team will then head to the MIAA North Sectionals on Nov. 2, at MIT’s Zesiger Pool and the Division 2 State Championships on Nov. 9, at Boston University’s Competition Pool.

“We finished at States last year third. [Belmont, with 200 points, finished behind Wellesley (384 pts) and North Andover (225 points)] So I would love to get second at states. That would be amazing. I would love to finish really strong at North Sectionals (6th in 2024) as well. Anywhere above fifth would be great sectionals,” said Emmons.