The Supreme Judicial Court's ruling is available online here. (Click on "Opinions" under Supreme Judicial Court, then click on the link for DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT vs. SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF WAYLAND. SJC-10406 December 31, 2009)
Note: that site states that the opinion linked above is subject to revision and will eventually be removed from the Web site.
Metrowest Daily News 12/31/09: State court rebukes Wayland school board over e-mails. In a case dating back to a meeting in 2004, the state Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday ruled that e-mail evaluations of the Wayland school superintendent by individual School Committee members were improper "deliberations" and are public records subject to the state Open Meeting Law.
'Wayland A to Z': 'R' is for 'Revolutionary War'. What was Sudbury like in 1775? East Sudbury did not exist as a separate town and Wayland was 60 years in the future. Separate meetinghouses had been constructed – one in Sudbury Center and the other, the fourth to be built, on the east side at the corner of Pelham Island and Cochituate Roads. There was very little disagreement, however, about grievances against the English king and Parliament. The well-known confrontation at the Old North Bridge attracts tourists to Concord. But Sudbury shared a common concern with several provincial towns as they tried to overthrow the old government and establish a new one.
ABC News 1/2/10: Muslim-Hindu Punk Rock Bands Part of New Movement. A small but growing South Asian and Middle Eastern punk rock movement is attracting children of Muslim and Hindu immigrants and sparking new bands across America. Bands like The Kominas (kuh-MEE'-nahs), based in Wayland, Mass., are trying to use their music to explore their identities as Americans and fight stereotypes about South Asian immigrants.
Metrowest Daily News 1/3/09: In Wayland, a musical Muslim revolution. Artwork from the Punjab state of India decorates the Ray family home. A Johann Sebastian Bach statue sits on a piano. But in the basement – cluttered with wires, old concert fliers and drawings – 25-year-old Arjun Ray is fighting distortion from his electric guitar.
Wayland Student Press Network 1/3/2010: Construction to close student parking lots. With construction on the new high school expedited from next spring to this summer, students at Wayland High will be losing parking privileges on campus a year earlier than expected. Because current student parking lots will be turned into a construction zone, there will not be an option to purchase a parking space on campus next school year. It is not yet clear if there will be a satellite lot so that students can drive to school.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be held on Monday, January 4th (tonight) in Town Building. After convening the meeting and receiving public comment, the Board will meet with Town Moderator Peter Gossels to discuss a number of procedural changes that have been suggested to improve Town Meeting and whether to [...]
Metrowest Daily News 1/5/09: Wayland School Committee delays court-ordered release of e-mails. Despite last week's landmark ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court which saying the School Committee must release two e-mails the court deemed violated the Open Meeting Law, the committee is biding its time in complying. Last night, the committee deferred discussion of the ruling until its meeting next Monday when Jeff Dieffenbach, who was away on business and is the only member of the current committee whose tenure dates to the time of the violation, can be present.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2010
Contact: Tom Conroy or Kristen Pendergrass
State House Office: (617) 722-2460
State Representative Conroy Announces Upcoming District Office Hours and “Ask the Rep” Show on Local Cable
Representative Thomas Conroy is pleased to announce his local office hours in Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland for the month of January, 2010. Constituents are encouraged to come [...]
Might you be interested to give a little time to Girl Scouting? Wayland Girl Scouts welcomes your support. We have volunteer opportunities available depending on your interest and time. Examples of opportunities: greeting and registering girls at town-wide events, providing extra adult supervision as well as helping to hand out snacks. For those with a [...]
Wayland Police Department
Press Release
November 17, 2009
Chief Robert Irving is pleased to announce that the Wayland Police Department was awarded an “Award of Excellence Silver Category” for Municipal Police Departments, in the 2008 Massachusetts Law Enforcement Challenge. This award is sponsored by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, with support from the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. It is based on efforts in communities to curb motor vehicle accidents and uses a number of criteria to evaluate the department’s motor vehicle enforcement efforts. Data from 2008 was used to assess the Wayland Police Department’s efforts in speed enforcement, O.U.I. enforcement, safety belt usage, and overall enforcement activity.
Total crashes decreased from 302 in 2007 to 246 in 2008. The department’s Community Services Officer, Mark Wilkins, completed the application for the Law Enforcement Challenge with assistance from Administrative Sergeant, Thomas Galvin.
This year’s award was presented at a ceremony at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester on November 17th.
Wayland Town Crier 1/5/10: Wayland-Sudbury septage facility decommissioned. The Wayland-Sudbury septage facility met the December 1 decommissioning timeline. It is now decommissioned and offline.
Wayland Town Crier 1/5/10: Tough talks about proposed cuts for Wayland Public Schools. Questions from residents and responses from school officials at a school budget forum on Monday brought to mind the line in "Cool Hand Luke" delivered by Paul Newman: "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Attendees, which included a contingent of Wayland High School students, expressed difficulty in deciphering the details behind line items in the budget, and anger that effective teachers might be laid off due to lack of seniority, prompting frustration from residents and school officials alike. School Committee Chairman Louis Jurist presented the $30.3 million budget for the 2010-11 school year, which is $725,000 less than the current school year. The proposed budget is the first since 1981 to represent a decrease in school funding.
Wayland Town Crier 1/5/10: Important book discussions coming up. "The Price of Privilege" by Madeline Levine, PhD, will be discussed by a panel of experts in the field of adolescent development on Monday, January 25 at 7:15pm. at Wayland Library. This book examines the real causes of depression, substance abuse and anxiety disorders in teenagers from loving affluent families. Parents of students in grades 4 through high school will benefit from this discussion.
The BASE program (Before/After School Extension) currently has openings in its before and after school programs. At Loker, Happy Hollow, and Claypit Hill schools, doors open at 7 am for the Before-School Program, which operates until the school day starts. Parents may use the program on a drop-in basis but do need to fill out emergency contact information. Contract rates are available for those needing the program on a regular basis.
After-school programs are available for Grades K – 8 children. At Loker School, the program includes Kindergarten Extended Day and a late afternoon program open until 6 pm. Flexible scheduling is available. At Happy Hollow and Claypit Hill Schools, the programs are for Grades 1 – 4 children and at Wayland Middle School, programming is for Grades 5 – 8 children. Bus transportation is provided for the fifth graders.
Stop by Girl Scout Troop 3160’s Booth Sale on Saturday, January 9, throughout most of the day, at the Wayland Landfill. In addition to buying cookies for your family and friends, you can also donate cookies to our Troops overseas.
Wayland Town Crier 1/6/10: Learn about Cold War experiences in Wayland. "Duck and cover!" If you’re old enough to remember this expression, then an upcoming talk on the influence of the Cold War in Wayland may be a trip down memory lane. If not, the event will be a fun introduction to what residents and schoolchildren experienced during the height of that conflict – from the early 1950s to the beginning of the Kennedy presidency 10 years later.
Metrowest Daily News 1/7/10: Exhibit in federal courthouse in Boston features work of Wayland artist. After passing through a metal detector, visitors can enjoy the soothing serenity of Pearl McCarthy's evocative oil paintings at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston. The Wayland resident's just opened exhibit, "Be Still," showcases 23 mostly new works that reveal her commitment to "capturing the moment" in subtly colored still lifes, portraits and landscapes.
[ October 1, 2009; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. October 8, 2009; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. November 12, 2009; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. January 7, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. February 4, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. February 18, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. March 4, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. April 1, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Great Presenters Series: This year we have organized a series of programs by local experts. The series started on the evening of October 1 when technology leader John Landry will answer the question “What’s Next in the Tech World?”
It continues on October 8 with Sudbury Valley Trustees' Ron McAdow and Marylynn Gentry. Do you want [...]
[ January 7, 2010; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Bob will clarify for a general audience recent information on this subject that has received wide popular coverage. He’ll describe what PSA screening can and cannot tell your doctor, alternative treatments (from ‘watchful waiting’ to radical surgery), and newer treatment modalities.
Robert C. Eyre, M.D. is Associate Professor of Surgery (Urology) at Harvard Medical School and [...]
On March 21, the Fresh Air Fund-Racers will take to the streets at the NYC Half-Marathon! Thank you to the Fresh Air Fund-Racers and their supporters for participating in this world class event. You are making a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Fresh Air children! There is still some space available on the Fresh Air Fund team. If you would like to run, please click here for more information.
Wayland Town Crier 1/7/10: Wayland's Catholic churches to merge. In 2003, when Roman Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston were being closed in rapid succession due to the combined impact of the clergy abuse crisis, priest shortage, dwindling church attendance and financial woes, it was puzzling to many why St. Ann’s and St. Zepherin, less than 2-and-a-half miles apart in Wayland, both remained open. Even when Father Frank Silva left St. Ann’s three years later, a new pastor, James Laughlin, was appointed in his place, and the parishes didn’t come any closer to merging. This changed, however, when Father Ronald Bourgault of St. Zepherin retired in 2008 and Laughlin was appointed to head up both parishes. Finally, a decision on the next step has been made – the two churches will merge as soon as the logistics and other details can be worked out.
Wayland Town Crier 1/8/10: 'Wayland A to Z': 'R' is for 'Rosebud Gardens'. In the mid-1930s, a bankruptcy sale was held at Rosebud Gardens, a nightclub located on the Boston Post Road east of Wayland Center, now the site of Temple Shir Tikva. The owner of Rosebud Gardens had allegedly siphoned funds from the nightclub to support his semi-pro baseball team whose home field was down the hill in back of the nightclub.
Burlington, MA — January 4, 2010 — Burlington-based contract manufacturer for drug products, Hyaluron Contract Manufacturing (HCM) donated a spectrophotometer to Wayland High School (WHS) in Wayland, MA. The spectrophotometer was donated to enhance the education currently received in the AP Biology and Chemistry classes. The instrument will be used to measure the degree and process of photosynthesis. This will also be used in the Chemistry Department to enable students to measure reactions and see end points to chemical reactions. The equipment allows students to get experience with instrumentation that they will use in college or on the job.
Wayland Town Crier 1/8/10: Local BNI chapter is young but growing quickly. While most of the Wayland community is sleeping at 7 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, a group of local business people are meeting and networking as part of the Commerce Connection Business Networking International (BNI) Wayland chapter. BNI has chapters all over the world, each with the same mission – to help members increase their business through a structured, positive and professional "word-of-mouth" program that enables them to develop long-term relationships with quality business professionals. The Wayland chapter is young, just three years old, but growing. Each week visitors come and learn the benefits of BNI membership. Since there is only one representative from each business type, there is a lot of potential for referrals.
[ January 9, 2010; 9:00 am; ] Learn outdoor activities that are fun and easy to do with friends and family. Snowshoeing is similar to walking. Free. For information, visit www.wintertrails.org or call 781-891-6575. The Weston Ski Track is located at 200 Park Rd., Weston.
[ January 9, 2010; 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. ] Sudbury Valley Trustees presents TRACKING YOUR NEIGHBORS FOOTSTEPS. At Nut Meadow, Concord.
(Alternate Date: Sunday January 10)
Winter is the perfect time to learn what kinds of animals are roaming our reservations. Nut Meadow has an interesting topography and wetlands, rich in biodiversity. We could find evidence of coyote, red fox, beaver, mink, and even great [...]
The next regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be held on Monday, January 11th in Town Building. After convening the meeting and receiving public comment, the Board will hold a petitioner's workshop for the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. This is an opportunity for citizens contemplating submission of articles to have questions answered regarding [...]
Registered Democrats in Wayland will be holding a caucus in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room in the Wayland Town Building on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 7:00 pm to elect 9 delegates and 3 alternates to the 2010 Massachusetts Democratic Convention. Delegates will be divided equally between men and women.
Wayland Town Crier 1/9/09: SJC decision could have far-reaching effects on public records. After a Supreme Judicial Court ruling found that the Wayland School Committee violated the Open Meeting Law during a 2004 superintendent evaluation, local officials are figuring out what the ruling means and whether it will be a moot point later this year.
Metrowest Daily News 1/9/10: Stolen card leads to mall shopping spree (with video). Police are hoping that security camera footage taken at Natick Collection will help them catch two women they said stole a credit card and racked up more than $3,700 in charges.
Holiday Hours: The Library will be closed on Monday, January 18, for MLK Day.
Angels of Austria: At 7:30 on Wednesday, January 27, in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, filmmaker Judy Faust will present her documentary, "Angels of Austria: The Church that Reached Out to Holocaust Survivors." The film chronicles an Austrian church's attempts to reverse centuries of [...]
[ January 10, 2010; 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. ] Did you know that the Parmenter Health Center included a bomb shelter? That Wayland was listed as one of the towns within [...]
“Let’s Gogh Art,” an after-school art education program, will be offering its “ABCs of Art” class to K-5 students in Wayland Public Schools. It is being brought to Wayland through Wayland School Community Programs. Let’s Gogh Art is a Lunenberg, MA-based enterprise, which offers Creative Education art classes and workshops. The impetus to bring the program to Wayland comes from WSCP’s new director, Brian Jones, who gained familiarity with the program from his prior teaching and administrative position in a Preschool-Grade 8 Brookline Public School.
“The program’s philosophy is that ‘creativity is at the heart of all education,’” he explained. In keeping with that, “ABCs of Art” classes incorporate literature, music, art history, humor and more. The goal is to foster “creativity through broad exposure to all forms of media, tools and techniques. These include painting, drawing, collage, mosaics and many whimsical and unconventional projects.”
The seven-week program will consist of “art, creativity, and fun” and is being offered on Wednesdays from February 10 until March 31. The $100 fee includes all materials as well as a Let’s Gogh Art t-shirt. The schedule is 12:30-1:30pm for Loker kindergartners and 2–3pm for Happy Hollow and Claypit Hill School students.
The curriculum is hands-on and based on an open-ended explorative process. According to program literature, “Creativity is best experienced with a comprehensive exposure to drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, print-making and more.”
Let’s Gogh Art offers art classes and workshops, “giving children and adults the environment and opportunity to explore and enhance their creativity…at their own pace and on their own terms.” It is designed for “both the artistically inclined individual and those who never thought they could create art.”
For more information about Let’s Gogh Art, check out the website at: www.letsgoghart.com
Enrollment forms are available online or through the WSCP office at Loker School (508-655-6404).
Boston Globe 1/12/10: ‘Perfect guests’ defrauded series of Mass. innkeepers, police say. They lingered over breakfast, raving about the homemade granola and chatting amiably with other guests at the richly appointed 19th-century bed-and-breakfast. They kept their room spotless, whiled away afternoons over books and brownies, and entertained their hosts with amusing stories. “The perfect inn guests,’’ said Marilyn Mudry, who has run the Hawthorne Inn in Concord with her husband for more than three decades. “Just a cute, charming older couple. That’s what we thought, anyway.’’ But that was before 79-year-old Benjamin and 72-year-old Jane Wolff allegedly skipped out on the $3,600 bill, and before the Wolffs, who were arraigned in Concord District Court Friday on charges of defrauding an innkeeper, were implicated in similar swindles in Rockport, Newburyport, and Waltham. Authorities say they preyed on proprietors’ trust and bounced checks for thousands of dollars at inns catering to a well-heeled clientele.
Metrowest Daily News 1/12/10: Police: Woman ran brothel in Wayland. A woman accused of running a brothel at her Wayland Housing Authority apartment told police she only did it to get revenge on her ex-boyfriend, police said. Amy McPherson, 32, was arrested Saturday at her 106 Main St. apartment on prostitution charges following a four-month investigation, according to a police report filed in Framingham District Court by Sgt. Jamie Berger. The investigation began when police got a call Aug. 5 from Wayland Housing Authority Director Brian Boggia, who suspected McPherson and a second woman were soliciting on craigslist.org.
Metrowest Daily News 1/12/10: Wayland School Committee to release documents. The School Committee voted last night to release two documents at the center of a long legal dispute in accordance with a ruling by the state's highest court. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Dec. 31 that the school board violated the Open Meeting Law when then-chairman Jeff Dieffenbach requested, via private e-mail, that the four committee members give him their comments on the superintendent's job performance so that he could synthesize their comments into one draft. The School Committee voted unanimously to release the two documents. The public may request the two documents by writing a letter or e-mailing Superintendent Gary Burton, who will comply with each request within 10 days.
Please find pasted below a resolution that was unanimously adopted by the Board of Selectmen last evening, with the concurrence of the Town Moderator. The resolution establishes a temporary advisory committee to the selectmen and Town Moderator to review, evaluate and make recommendations on proposals on procedures and logistics which may make Town Meeting more [...]
WAYLAND BOARD OF HEALTH ANNOUNCES COMMUNITY FLU CLINIC
H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine; both flu mist and injectable available
When: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 3-7pm
Where: Wayland Town Building
Available to all interested individuals regardless of age. No restrictions. No appointments necessary. No charge to you, but please bring your insurance information.
Wayland Town Crier 1/12/10: More talks on Wayland Public Schools budget cuts. The Finance Committee delivered some good news in a grim budget season this week with the announcement of adjusted budget guidelines that positively impact previously requested expense reductions. Revenue that was not in the FinCom’s original estimates for fiscal 2011 includes $150,000 in additional new growth, revenue from the local options meal tax passed at special Town Meeting in November, and some savings in utility costs. New revenue and utility savings will reduce the town’s budget shortfall from $1.7 million to $1.4 million in FY11, which lasts from July 2010 to June 2011. The school budget share of that adjusted expense reduction is $980,000, giving the administration $210,000 to work back into their budget. The town share of the adjusted expense reduction is $420,000. FinCom member Cherry Karlson delivered the welcome news to the School Committee at its meeting on Monday night following her committee’s vote to approve the new guidelines. However, Karlson warned this is not a cause for optimism. The FinCom wants all town departments to find ways to control expenses and grow revenues to achieve sustainable change in next year’s town budget.
The following summary of the January 11 Board of Selectmen Meeting was contributed by Town Administrator Fred Turkington:
At the meeting of the Board of Selectmen held on Monday, January 11th, selectmen adopted the proposed composition and charge to a temporary advisory committee to be empaneled to review a number of procedural changes that have been [...]
Wayland Student Press Network 1/13/10: Town citizens voice concerns over school budget cuts. Town residents have voiced opinions on and concerns over the proposed budget for the 2010 – 2011 school year at a series of public meetings over the past two weeks. On January 4, the Wayland School Committee held a public forum in the Large Hearing Room in the Town Building, to review Superintendent Gary Burton’s budget, one that has caused discussion and dissension within the community. The budget will shrink 2.33% next year, the first reduction since 1981. School Committee chairman Louis Jurist gave a presentation summarizing the budget and proposed cuts before opening the floor to the roughly 30 town citizens present, including several high school students. Alternative cuts suggested by the public included administrative pay reductions, the elimination of the language lab, and the removal of one or more of the Superintendent office’s three secretaries.
[ January 13, 2010; 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. ] Foreign Film Series: The next film in our Foreign Film Series, on Wednesday, January 13, at 6:30pm, is the French film “Amélie” by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amélie is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood in which she’s developed a keen imagination, an active fantasy life, and a whimsical, romantic nature. The film [...]
Metrowest Daily News 1/14/10: Wayland school chairman regrets e-mail gaffe. School Committee Chairman Louis Jurist said he regrets sending an e-mail to his fellow committee members on Tuesday about the budget for the upcoming 2010-11 school year. "As soon as I sent it, I said to myself, 'What did I do?"' Jurist said yesterday. "If there was a 10-second delay after you pressed the send button in which you could take back an e-mail, it would have never been sent." In the e-mail, Jurist was forwarding a message from a Wayland resident who had suggestions about the budget for the 2010-11 school year, with Jurist adding his own thoughts. He sent it to the other School Committee members and inadvertently to another party. Jurist said he did not believe sending the e-mail was a violation of the state's Open Meeting Law, as he did not receive any responses from the other committee members. Responses could have constituted a deliberation.
[ January 14, 2010; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. ] Wills & Trusts in Uncertain Times: From 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, January 14, attorney Perry Ganz will present a seminar on basic estate planning and taxation in the library’s Raytheon Room
Wayland Town Crier 1/14/10: Town administrator's recommended adjustments to FY11 budget. Town Administrator Fred Turkington has prepared a series of adjustments to the proposed town department and committee budgets for fiscal 2011, lasting from July 2010 to June 2011, at the request of the Finance Committee. In considering this task, Turkington said he has "refused to simply recommend an across-the-board percentage reduction to all departments. Such an approach does not recognize spending priorities, consider community needs and utilization, or contemplate ways in which spending may leverage sources of revenue."Residents will vote on the FY11 budgets at the annual Town Meeting in May.
Wayland Town Crier 1/14/10: Changes for town meeting to be investigated. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Monday night to establish a temporary Town Meeting Procedures Review Committee to evaluate and submit recommendations which may make town meeting more efficient, effective and user-friendly.
Monday: Holiday, President's Day
Tuesday, February 16: Fairway Bowling in Natick, make your own pizza
Wednesday, February 17, Pizzeria Uno, make your own pizza day!
Thursday, February 18, Hannaford's Supermarket, fun-filled and nutritious
Friday, February 19: Trombetta's Indoor Mini Golf
WSCP, Wayland Public Schools, Director, Brian Jones (508) 655-6404
Program Location: Loker School
Email: Brian_Jones@wayland.k12.ma.us
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Stop by Girl Scout Troop 3160’s Booth Sale on Saturday, January 9, throughout most of the day, at the Wayland Landfill. In addition to buying cookies for your family and friends, you can also donate cookies to our Troops overseas.
