Boston Globe 2/14/10: Wayland girls notch third straight North crown. Wayland High girls coach Mike Foley’s voice succumbed to illness at a most inopportune time: the days leading up to the North Sectional Girls’ Swimming Championship. In order to keep his ailment from affecting his team, Foley dictated his pregame speech to his assistants, who [...]
Swept Away: Local curlers to tune in when Olympic competition begins. Curling? Isn’t that the game that resembles shuffleboard on ice? Don’t tell that to the 350 members of Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland which has been the sport’s regional center since opening in 1968. For club president Jennifer Leichter, “The main reason people curl [...]
The following preview was submitted by Town Administrator, Fred Turkington: There is no meeting of the Board of Selectmen on Monday, February 15th due to the observance of President's Day. Town facilities will be closed on Monday. The next meeting of the Board of Selectmen will be held on Monday, February 22nd in Town [...]
Boston Globe 2/14/10: Wayland residents discuss high-tech voting to streamline Town Meeting. After witnessing the chaos of November’s Town Meeting votes on the new Wayland High School and Town Center projects, 16-year-old Monique Sager decided it was time to bring a venerable old New England tradition into the 21st century. So Sager, a Wayland High [...]
Happy Hollow School students organize ‘Hike for Haiti’.Shortly after the devastating earthquake in Haiti on Jan. 12, Happy Hollow’s student council went to work brainstorming ways to help the Haitians. Each grade level designed their own ideas to help. For Happy Hollow School, the disaster in Haiti wasn’t just a faraway event happening to people [...]
PARMENTER FOOD PANTRY—Donation Box. Celebrate Valentine’s month by donating a non-perishable food item to the Parmenter Food Pantry donation box at the Senior Center. The pantry is particularly in need of canned fruit, tuna, peanut butter, jelly, boxed cereal, baking mixes, pasta, etc. Paper goods and toiletries (soap, toothpaste) are always needed. The donation box [...]
Wayland Town Crier 2/12/10: Wayland nurse returns from helping people of Haiti. After arriving at Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti, there wasn’t a lot of time for volunteer nurse Tom Curran-Apse of Wayland to pause and look around. Tending to one patient after another for 20 hours a day was enough to keep a [...]
Registrations are now in progress for the 48th anniversary season in 2010 which features four exciting shows – "Children of Eden," "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," "Honk!" and "Alicia in Wonder Tierra." There are many opportunities for singing, dancing, drama, comedy and ensemble. The workshop welcomes participants of all levels of theater ability [...]
The Wayland Public Schools announces registration for its September kindergarten program is under way. To be eligible, children must be 5 before Aug. 31. Thus, parents of all children born between Sept. 2, 2004, and Aug. 31, 2005, must register their children now or inform the school of their decision to defer their child’s entrance [...]
First- and second-grade girls are invited to participate in "Living in Long Ago Days," an after-school program sponsored by the Wayland Historical Society. Sessions will be on Tuesday, March 2, 9, 16 and 23, from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. at the Grout-Heard House, next to the library. This program, tailored for 6 to 8 year [...]
WSPN 2/11/10: T-Tones win community service fair sing off. The Wayland High School Testostertones, the all-male a cappella group known around campus as the T-Tones, are a staple performance group at WHS with a rich history of talented singers and funny members. The T-Tones have been hard at work preparing for the last week’s whirlwind Winter Week festivities, as well as a plethora of other upcoming performances.
This Sunday, February 7th, all their practicing paid off when they won the Community Service Fair Sing Off at the Chestnut Hill Mall. Sponsored by TeenLife.com and Bristol Studios, the competition offered the winning a capella group five hours, or $600 worth of time in a Bristol Studios recording studio.
Fifteen local a capella groups, including the Belmont Hill B Flats, the Boston Latin Wolfettes, the Milton Academy Miltones and the Newton North Fortes showed up to compete in the singing battle.
Wayland Town Crier 2/11/10: Library exhibit highlights special place in Wayland. For many of us who live in Wayland, the Town Beach on Lake Cochituate is a special place indeed. I’m particularly partial to the boat launch area, which is beyond the picnic grove to the left of the entrance. It’s quiet. There’s not a lot of annoying sand. And, best of all, the sun sets directly opposite the shore, making it an absolutely exquisite spot in the early evening.
Parkland Drive resident Paul Dale discovered the magic of the Town Beach nearly 30 years ago, when he moved to the community and his small daughters began playing there. As time went by, he began walking his dogs by the lake and grew more and more enchanted.
A computer software specialist by profession, Dale is also an accomplished mountaineer – rocks and ice are his favorites. “I’ve climbed in the Italian, French and Swiss Alps, British Columbia, Nepal, in the Tetons, the High Sierras, and the Cascades. And I always took a lot of pictures. So, one day about 10 years ago when I was down at the Town Beach, I decided that, since it was so accessible – virtually any time of the day and at any season – I should be taking pictures there too.”
Many of the resulting photos are now part of a handsome exhibit in the library’s Raytheon Room titled “Light at the Lake.”
Wayland Town Crier 2/11/10: Save Our Services omits contribution of e-mail list in original filing. Grassroots organization Save Our Services (SOS) is catching flak for donating an e-mail distribution list to a ballot question committee created to support the High School building vote last year, with questions hovering over whether the organization violated its own anti-spam policy.
SOS donated the list to the ballot question committee Yes4WHS prior to last fall’s election and Town Meeting, despite a policy on its Web site that SOS has a spam-free e-mail list “used solely to keep you informed about issues related to Wayland services.” The site also states that you can unsubscribe to the e-mail list at any time.
Yes4WHS then failed to report the donated e-mail list to the town clerk’s office.
Wayland Town Crier 2/11/10: Wayland High School student leads electronic voting demonstration. fter the chaos and confusion of last November’s special Town Meeting, many Wayland voters are ready for changes that will make the event more efficient, effective and user-friendly. Of the many recommendations that have been submitted, electronic voting seems to have gained considerable traction. Earlier this month, about 50 residents attended a demonstration of electronic voting organized and presented by 17-year-old Wayland High School junior Monique Sager. Sager’s group, Improve Wayland Democracy, is supporting articles 20 and 29 at next May’s annual Town Meeting. Article 20 calls for determining whether the town will appropriate funds for electronic voting. Article 29 calls for determining whether the town will support the creation of a Web site to allow voters to debate the pros and cons of town meeting issues online and interactively. Reaction to the presentation was mixed. "We spend a lot of money in this town on a lot of things," said resident Anette Lewis. "So if it’s really $16 per person and it will last for a number of years, I think it’s money well spent." Selectman Susan Pope was concerned about the cost and the fact that, if Wayland adopts electronic voting, it will be the first community in the commonwealth to do so. She also felt the Web site sounded too much like a blog. Alluding to the impending creation of the Town Meeting Procedures Review Committee to study all of the proposals on the table, Pope believed it was premature to move ahead on electronic voting and the Web site. For more information on the proposal click here.
Computer-savvy Wayland Middle School students will have a chance to bring their skills to a new level through a “Computer Cadets” course being debuted in March by Wayland School Community Programs (WSCP). While helping individual students build on existing skills, the eight-week course is designed to create a core of trained “Computer Cadets.” Their [...]
Wayland Town Crier 2/9/10: Newest recipient of Mary L. Johnson Travelship award named. With the announcement of the Mary L. Johnson Travelship award this year, Kevin Delaney joins a distinguished group of 22 past and present Wayland educators.
Residents of Wayland likely received a package of material from Home Service USA Corp. offering insurance protection for the water supply line that connects water service from the pipe in the street. The marketing material has a headline entitled “State of Massachusetts, Middlesex County, City of Wayland, Water Line Service Coverage for (name and address [...]
Wayland Student Press Network 2/10/10: Junior wins investment essay award. Junior Ben Shelton was awarded a first place trophy from InvestWrite, a statewide essay competition, in a surprise presentation in Mr. Gavron’s Stocks class on Monday morning.
InvestWrite, a program run by SIFMA, the Foundation for Investor Education, holds competitions for students in grades 4-12 twice a year. Participants submit essays about stocks and investing strategies. Students from Wayland High School have been finalists in the competition for the past four years, but Shelton is the first from Wayland to win first place.
Spring/Summer Brochure will be mailed to Wayland residents and will be available online for all to read at the end of February. Registration will begin then. Website: www.wayland.ma.us Week of June 21 Archery, Summer Adventure Week of June 28 Summer Adventure, Beach Buddies, Counselor In Training, Baseball, Tennis,Gizmo Robot Factory, Wheelthrown Pottery, Thundercats -Kiddie [...]
From the Town Administrator:
Please find pasted below a link to the statement from Moody’s Investors Service regarding the Town’s credit rating. The rating reflects the continuing confidence of independent evaluators of the Town’s fiscal condition, management, and long-term financial planning.
According to Moody’s: “The Aaa rating is based on the town’s favorably located and wealthy tax base as well as a sound financial position with significant flexibility provided by voter support of Proposition 2 ½ operating overrides and debt exclusions. The rating also incorporates the town’s modest debt burden that is expected to remain very manageable despite future debt plans.Wayland’s financial strength has improved significantly due to management’s conservative approach to budgeting revenues and managing expenditures.”
The full report is available online here: http://www.wayland.ma.us/accounting/Moody's%20Wayland%201-10%20Rating.pdf
Yes, there is snow on the ground, but the countdown to Summer 2010 has begun and The Fresh Air Fund is again in need of host families. Please help place these children into a loving host family home for a fresh air experience they will never forget. In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund's Volunteer Host [...]
PRESS RELEASE MASHANTUCKET, CT (February 9, 2010) –Foxwoods Resort Casino today announced that professional poker player and media personality Bernard Lee has been named official spokesperson for the property’s World Poker Tour-branded Poker Room. Foxwoods, a charter member of the WPT, is the first major casino to sponsor a poker professional. A Wayland, [...]
Wayland Town Crier 2/9/10: Wayland historian and author to give talk in Lowell. Wayland historian and author Jane Sciacca will be giving a talk and book signing as part of the upcoming Kids’ Week on Feb. 15 to 20 sponsored by the Lowell National Historical Park. She will be speaking about her children’s work, "Mr. [...]
Wayland Town Crier 2/9/10: Sudbury and Wayland may decide to share transfer station. The town of Sudbury plans to raise the cost to use the transfer station from $125 to $155, and implement a $25 recycle-only sticker fee in July. In addition, the town is working on details to determine if consolidating its transfer station with Wayland is feasible.
Wayland Town Crier 2/9/10: Split decision to grant new liquor license. In a split decision on Monday night, the Board of Selectmen voted to grant a beer and wine license to Wayland Variety and Deli, located at 70 Boston Post Road. Resident Pankaj Patel, principal shareholder of the corporation and manager of the store, appeared before the board with his attorney Tim Collins. The debate centered around the proximity of Wayland Variety and Deli to Post Road Liquors, at 44 Boston Post Road, as well as the fact that the store is frequented by local teenagers. There was also concern that, although the town currently has several licenses available, they should be saved for potential use at restaurants and package stores in the proposed Town Center. Joe Nolan, Steven Correia and Michael Tichnor voted to grant the license. Tom Fay and Susan Pope opposed it.
The Wayland Schools' GREEN TEAM is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by hosting an Earth Day Celebration at the Wayland Town Building, 41 Cochituate Rd, Wayland Massachusetts on Sunday April 11, 2010 from 11:00am to 2:00pm. This event is community-wide and designed to mobilize all of us to create change by taking small [...]
Budding young artists up to grade 8 are invited to enter the Earth Day Coloring Contest hosted by the Wayland GREEN TEAM. The theme is "Earth Day Every Day." Posters based on this theme should be on standard paper size of 8 ½ inches x 11inches, preferably on re-used or recycled-content paper, and can be [...]
Press Release WAYLAND BOARD OF HEALTH URGENT WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 10th FLU CLINIC has been POSTPONED due to weather concerns New Date: Tuesday, February 23rd, 3-7pm at Wayland Town Building H1N1 FLU MIST AND INJECTABLE VACCINE AVAILABLE; SEASONAL VACCINE INJECTABLE ONLY AVAILABLE (NO SEASONAL FLU MIST) Available to all interested individuals regardless of age. No [...]
"Ecology of Sound" is an Interactive Multicultural Music Performance presenting the music from Brazil, West Africa, Amazon and North American Natives.The performance highlights the use of traditional and invented rhythm instruments using recycled and natural found objects. Ages 3 and up. Children under the age of 9 must be accompanied by an adult. Contact: Youth [...]
Boston Globe 2/7/10: Elderly couple went on alleged swindling spree. They were youthful sweethearts who, after separate lives and failed marriages, had found each other again later in life. They settled in an idyllic Cape Cod cottage she had inherited from her father, refurbishing it, taking long walks with their golden retriever, Winston, and spending hours on their back porch overlooking a tidal salt marsh on the bay. It was a storybook tale of second chances and rediscovered love, and Benjamin and Jane Wolff told it often. They also talked of his once high-flying investment career at Goldman Sachs, of the times he rubbed elbows with the likes of Martha Stewart and Warren Buffett, and of the lucrative investment deals he was pursuing in retirement. But then in 2005, the story line received a jolt: A Barnstable County sheriff’s deputy seized the Cape Cod cottage in foreclosure proceedings, and the couple soon disappeared.
Wayland Town Crier 2/5/10: Meet new director of Wayland School Community Programs. Brian Jones, the new director of the Wayland School Community Programs (WSCP), believes a high- performing district like Wayland deserves exciting new activities for the children every day. Initially hired to be director of Pegasus, WSCP’s summer program, Jones began to get to know the Wayland schoolchildren. While looking for an administrative position, this new opportunity presented itself. Formerly a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher in the Brookline Public Schools, Jones also worked as after-school director and acting vice principal in his last year at the Lincoln School in Brookline. With a master’s in education and another master’s almost complete in education administration from Boston College, he feels confident that WSCP has the best programs possible.
Wayland Town Crier 2/5/10: Wayland High students ready for trip of a lifetime. When buying a cup of coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts, not many high school students stop to think about where that coffee actually came from – beyond the worker behind the cashier all the way to where and how it was grown. Jim Page, teacher of entrepreneurship and business management at Wayland High School, has made it his business to see that his students are educated consumers. Fourteen juniors and seniors will be accompanying Page to Chiapas, Mexico, during February vacation to learn about sustainable development and ethically traded coffee. "The driving factor behind the trip to Mexico is that I want students to understand there’s a story behind every product they use," said Page.
Wayland Town Crier 2/4/10: Inside look at new Department of Public Works. The League of Women Voters hosted a forum last week for the public to meet and ask questions of the director of the recently created Department of Public Works (DPW). Don Ouellette, Wayland’s first DPW director, began by speaking of the advantages of the department in terms of cost cutting, high quality of work and well-coordinated projects. "Savings will be achieved in administrative matters by one department doing the job that originally took four," he said. Three superintendents for highways, parks and water, respectively, who report to the director, are part of this administrative overhaul. According to Ouellette, "Efficiency savings will result from shared equipment and reduced management cost since increased coordination will create a more streamlined process."
Wayland Town Crier 2/4/10: The history behind house on Harrison Street. The house at 20 Harrison St. in Wayland has a long and lively history. Originally built around 1870 and first owned by a member of the prominent Goodnow family, it is believed to be the oldest extant dwelling on the street and one of the oldest in Cochituate. Starting in the early 1970s and until very recently, it was occupied by a colorful town character, Charlie Campbell, and known among locals as the "Who Hotel." No one seems to know exactly why it was given this moniker, but scuttlebutt has it that the Who Hotel was known among local teens as well as older partygoers as the go-to place for a little late-night action.
Want to reduce your home energy costs? Looking for cheap, do-it-yourself solutions? Want to know how to get the most bang for your buck when weatherizing your home? Interested in ways to finance this work and rebates available? You’ll learn about all this and more by attending a free Weatherizing Your Home for Ultimate Savings [...]
Viva Mexican Grill and Tequileria will celebrate their grand opening on Wednesday, February 10. The restaurant is located at 15 E. Plain St., the former site of Morn's. Contact them via email at viva@vivamexicangrill.com.
WEATHERIZING YOUR HOME On Monday, March 8, from 7-9 p.m., the Library and Wayland’s Energy Initiatives Advisory Committee are co-sponsoring a program by the Massachusetts Municipal Association on “Weatherizing Your Home for Ultimate Savings” in the library’s Raytheon Room. The workshop is being supported also by Energy Unlimited, a local business providing energy conservation products, wood [...]
Boston Globe 2/5/10: Special election dates set for Scott Brown state senate seat. The state Senate announced that residents of Brown’s former state Senate district will vote May 11, with party primaries scheduled for April 13, according to State House News Service.
Worcester Telegram 2/5/10: To Tell, or not to tell: Laws conflict on public disclosure of job reviews. A recent Supreme Judicial Court decision does little to resolve a long-running conflict between state laws that govern public meetings and public records, according to local officials and observers. The state’s highest court sided with the Middlesex district attorney’s office when it found the Wayland School Committee violated the Open Meeting Law by evaluating the school superintendent in executive, or nonpublic, session. The Open Meeting Law requires that discussion of a public employee’s professional competence be public; it does not apply to discussion of his or her reputation, character or health. But under public records law, written performance evaluations are exempt from disclosure, unless made public by the employee being evaluated. “Many of us are still confused as to how a board is to compile a confidential, nonpublic document (the evaluation) but discuss the same subject in an open meeting,” said Gregory B. Franks, Westboro’s town counsel.
Wayland Student Press Network 2/4/10: HSBC outlines student parking details and roadmap for construction. Over 75 students piled into L1 on Wednesday, as a part of Winter Week, to hear about the development of the new high school plan and the future of student parking. The session was led by Lea Anderson, the Chairman of High School Building Committee, with the help of Diane Bladon, head of the Wayland High School Parents Organization. Anderson and Bladon led students through a presentation outlining the plans for the new school. The idea for a new high school first emerged more than eight years ago. The need for a new school arose from numerous factors, including the lack of handicap accessibility and overcrowding in the current school. One possible option was renovating the existing school; however, said Anderson, “It is cheaper to build new.”
Metrowest Daily News 2/4/10: Wayland's Jill Stein to launch campaign for governor. Dr. Jill Stein of Wayland will declare her candidacy for governor of Massachusetts on Monday, Feb. 8 at a rally in front of the State House. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m., across from the Robert Gould Shaw monument. A crowd of enthusiastic volunteers from across the state is expected to attend.
The Wayland Schools' GREEN TEAM is hosting an Earth Day Celebration designed to bring the schools and the community together to support our planet. It will be held at the Wayland Town Building, 41 Cochituate Rd, Wayland Massachusetts from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Numerous vendors and committees will display their information and detail their missions. Activities [...]
earthdaynetwork Earth Day Celebration. The Wayland Schools’ Green Team is hosting an Earth Day Celebration designed to bring the schools and the community together to support our planet. It will be held at the Wayland Town Building, 41 Cochituate Rd, Wayland Massachusetts from 11am-2pm. Numerous vendors and committees will display their information and detail their [...]
In the aftermath of January’s catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the congregation of Temple Shir Tikva is organizing a Tent Drive to help provide shelter for some of the hundreds of thousands who are homeless. Working in conjunction with a Harvard relief team that is already on the ground, the Temple is asking for contributions to buy family-size tents that can house 7-8 people. Each tent costs about $150, but donations of any size are welcome. Please do not donate actual tents, as the Temple has a bulk supplier they will be working with. Checks should be made out to Temple Shir Tikva, with “Social Action – Tents for Haiti” in the memo line. Please feel free to contact Mimi Facher for more information.
The Wayland Cultural Council is pleased to announce a new photo exhibit in its Gallery at the Wayland Town Building. This exhibit describes the trip taken by the Wayland High School Honors Jazz Band and its director, Joe Oneshuck, to New Orleans in April 2009. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Wayland resident and BSO member Richard [...]
Wayland Town Crier 2/3/10: A new way to check out books from the library. The Wayland Library – along with more than 40 other members of the Minuteman Library Network – is now offering its patrons free anytime anywhere access to a growing collection of digital audio books, as well as downloadable e-books.
Wayland Spirit won the Newton Indoor Sports Friday season 1 league championship in thrilling fashion this January! The sixth grade girls beat 2nd place Needham 4-1 in the semi-finals, and beat undefeated and heavily favored Wellesley 4-2 in the championship match. Despite being significantly out shot, the girls managed to make their few shots on [...]
Boston Globe 2/2/10: Parents, doctors prod NFL on brain injuries. There was the nasty concussion Ben Price suffered from an eighth-grade skiing accident. Then the countless jarrings from wrestling and baseball. By senior year, he was plagued by nagging headaches after football practices at Wayland High School. His mother, Wendy Price, did not connect the incidents until a chance conversation last year with another parent at a youth soccer game. That parent, Dr. Ann McKee, is studying a form of early dementia that was once thought to develop primarily in boxers. Now McKee and her colleagues think the disease may be silently destroying the brains of athletes in a variety of sports after years of repetitive blows to the head. "You don’t know who is going to be the unlucky one," said Price, who asked McKee to speak at a forum in Wayland. The turnout – 200 parents, coaches, and students attended – was a sign of the success of the nation’s first center to study chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Created by McKee and three partners 17 months ago at Boston University Medical School, the center has quickly spread awareness about the dangers of repetitive head injuries, largely by targeting the National Football League.
Wayland Town Crier 2/2/10: First peek at upcoming Town Meeting articles. Forty articles were submitted for inclusion in the warrant for annual Town Meeting starting May 10, but two Planning Board articles have already been withdrawn, and more articles may be withdrawn or deferred until special Town Meeting in the fall. The Finance Committee held a hearing on Monday night for petitioners to present their articles. The deadline for petitioners’ final comments is March 10 and final adjustments to the warrant are due on April 14. Three petitioner’s articles – 20, 22 and 29 – seek to modify procedures or the format of town meeting itself. A newly appointed Town Meeting Procedures Review Committee will provide its recommendation on these articles.
Wayland Town Crier 2/2/10: Board of Selectmen stand firm on traffic mitigation for Town Center. The Board of Selectmen dug in its heels on Monday night, refusing to amend traffic mitigation measures in its Development Agreement for the proposed Town Center project, thus continuing a stalemate with the Historic District Commission (HDC) which decreed that no road work take place in the Historic District until the project is substantially under way. Twenty Wayland is in litigation with the HDC over the conditions issued in its decision. "In view of the clear recommendations of our traffic consultant, it would be quite imprudent for the board to fly in the face of that and amend the agreement," said Selectmen Michael Tichnor. The selectmen’s decision was in response to a letter from Twenty Wayland on Jan. 20, in which the developer requested the four parties who previously issued or were party to agreements relative to traffic improvements required for the development to amend their agreements as outlined in the HDC’s certificate of hardship.
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