WaylandeNews.com

Confusing vote at Town Meeting leading up to school audit

Wayland Town Crier 4/26/12: Confusing vote at Town Meeting leading up to school audit. At the fifth and final night of annual Town Meeting, Wayland voters opted for further scrutiny of Wayland Public Schools finances, with the approval of a recommendation to audit all of the district’s fee-based accounts and programs, including associated checking accounts, for fiscal years 2007 to 2012. After passage of the original petitioners’ article, presented by School Committee member Shawn Kinney, Finance Committee Chairwoman Cherry Karlson pointed out that motion contained two conflicting sources of funding – free cash and the school budget.

Water Rate Hearing on Monday, April 30

The Board of Public Works will hold a public hearing on Monday, April 30 at 8 p.m. to set new water rates. Members of the board are interested in receiving public comment regarding water rates.  The hearing will be held at the Wayland Town Building. All interested citizens are encouraged to attend.  For more information [...]

Wayland residents OK Town Meeting electronic voting

Wayland Town Crier 4/24/12: Wayland residents OK Town Meeting electronic voting. Town Meeting voters made local history Monday night by approving a petitioners’ article in support of funding electronic voting through fiscal 2015.

Families attend pre-trial hearing for Wayland slaying

WHDH 4/24/12: Families attend pre-trial hearing for Wayland slaying. The families of a murdered Wayland teenager and her accused killer were in court for a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday.  Nathaniel Fujita, 19, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Astley, last summer.  Fujita did not appear in court on Tuesday because his attorney said it was only about legal technicalities and possible evidence.

Slain Teen’s Dad Channels Pain Into Raising Awareness

WCVB 4/24/12: Slain Teen's Dad Channels Pain Into Raising Awareness. The trial of a Wayland teenager accused of killing his former girlfriend last year is moving forward. Nine months after 18-year-old Lauren Astley's death, her dad sat in a courtroom Tuesday, listening intently as lawyers reached agreements on motions leading up to the trial.

Computer, Phone Records Part of Discovery Hearing in Murder Case

Wayland Patch 4/24/12: Computer, Phone Records Part of Discovery Hearing in Murder Case. The case of the Commonwealth v Nathaniel Fujita took another step forward Tuesday as the prosecution and defense reach agreement on a number of motions related to evidence in the case. Fujita is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Lauren Astley, on July 3, 2011, and dumping her body in a Wayland marsh near the Sudbury town line. A passing bicyclist spotted Astley’s body on July 4, and Wayland Police arrested Fujita the following day. A Middlesex County Grand Jury on Aug. 4 indicted Fujita on charges of first-degree murder, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery. During a discovery hearing on Tuesday at Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn, prosecutor Lisa McGovern and Fujita’s attorney William Sullivan discussed multiple motions that outline the evidence each party must share with the other.

Photo Video Store Auction on Wednesday

Wayland Patch 4/24/12: Photo Video Store Auction on Wednesday. The Photo Video Store in Wayland will go to auction on Wednesday, April 25 at 11am. On April 3, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue seized the store for failure to pay $32,071 mostly in sales taxes. About a week later, owners Jim and Lynn Piecewicz agreed [...]

Community Emergency Response Team graduation

Wayland Town Crier 4/23/12: Community Emergency Response Team graduation. Graduation day for the new group of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members was March 26. Ten individuals from Wayland, Sudbury and Framingham completed the 10-week program, which makes them members of the President’s Citizen Corps (part of Homeland Security), as well as part of the larger group of CERT members in town.

Wayland Middle School parent survey results

Wayland Town Crier 4/24/12: Wayland Middle School parent survey results. At the end of the 2010-11 school year, the Wayland Middle School administrators in consultation with our School Council created an online survey (adapted from the Wayland High School parent survey) to solicit parents' perspective about the year's Middle School experience. We had 154 respondents, representing 58 parents with students in grade 6, 40 parents with students in grade 7, and 56 parents with students in grade 8. The vast majority of the feedback was positive, but it also brought to light some areas that need our thought and attention. We used this feedback to frame our year with staff and consider how we as a teaching and learning community can go from "good to great."

Wayland residents approve audit of school fee-based programs

Wayland Town Crier 4/24/12: Wayland residents approve audit of school fee-based programs. Wayland residents at the fifth – and final – night of this year’s annual Town Meeting voted to approve a petitioners’ article for an audit of school fee-based programs since fiscal 2007. [ed note: the sequence of votes described in this article differs from the actual session; for complete details of the proceedings, see this post from Wayland Patch

National Scholastic Press Association Contest Winners

National Scholastic Press Association 4/15/12: National Scholastic Press Association Contest Winners. Wayland Student Press wins "Best in Show" in the Publication Website Small School category at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention, April 12-15, 2012, in Seattle

A complex path to condemning homes

Wayland Town Crier 4/22/12: A complex path to condemning homes. Cities and towns have to enforce state building and health codes for homes, trying to keep citizens safe, sometimes from themselves. But safety concerns often aren’t clear cut, and public employees must measure keeping residents safe with allowing them to live their lives, no matter [...]

Wayland appraiser gets disciplinary action from board

Wayland Town Crier 4/17/12: Wayland appraiser gets disciplinary action from board. The Board of Registration of Real Estate Appraisers has announced disciplinary action against Dale K. Tapply of Wayland. The board imposed a six-month probation on Tapply’s real estate appraiser license and fined him $1,000.

Taylor Schilling Gets Lucky in New Nicholas Sparks Adaptation

Wayland Patch 4/21/12: Taylor Schilling Gets Lucky in New Nicholas Sparks Adaptation. If you’re a regular watcher of hospital-based TV series or a fan of Ayn Rand, you’ll already know about Taylor Schilling. She starred as a nurse in the short-lived TV show “Mercy,” and as businesswoman Dagney Taggart in the movie “Atlas Shrugged: Part [...]

Wayland Town Meeting Resumes Tonight

Wayland Patch 4/23/12: Wayland Town Meeting Resumes Tonight. It's been more than 11 days since Wayland's 2012 Annual Town Meeting last convened a session. During the break, you're been through an entire week of Spring Vacation, and we're willing to bet Town Meeting has been far from your mind. So here's what you need to know going into tonight's fifth, and presumably final, session. When/Where: Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Wayland Middle School. This session will take place in the auditorium, NOT the gymnasium. Because of the room change, please use the main entrance of WMS.

Breath of Fresh Aer: How a Suburban Boston Duo Checked My Chin

The Smoking Section 4/21/12: Breath of Fresh Aer: How a Boston Suburban Duo Checked My Chin. Upon tripping into a video for the Wayland, MA duo's video for "Feel I Bring" the skill they possessed became evident, as I sat in awe at how humbled these two extremely talented, regular-looking dudes had me feeling.

Residents, Officials Celebrate Wayland Town Center Groundbreaking

Wayland Patch 4/20/12: Residents, Officials Celebrate Wayland Town Center Groundbreaking. In the middle of piles of brown dirt studded with the tracks of heavy equipment, white tents shaded rows of chairs filled with members of the Wayland community excited to be a part of the official groundbreaking for Wayland Town Center.

Wayland Town Crier 4/21/12: Ground finally broken in Wayland Town Center project. After a painstaking six-year permitting process, ground was finally broken yesterday on the Wayland Town Center project which will bring shops and office space, as many as 100 housing units and creation of a 2-acre town green.

Latest Update on Pelham Island Bridge Work

Written by Gary Slep: To Our Patient Neighbors, The bridge project is proceeding but is behind schedule by about three weeks due to the utility work over which the contractor has no real control; that coordination and direction apparently comes from Mass DOT. Anyhow, today (Tuesday) the gas line work has begun in earnest.  A [...]

Learn about energy saving options at Earth Day in Wayland

Wayland Town Crier 4/16/12: Learn about energy saving options at Earth Day in Wayland. In these days of rising gas prices and uncertainty about future oil supplies, you may be interested in learning more about energy saving cars and homes. If so, come talk to some early adopters of efficient technologies at Wayland’s “Earth Day is Our Day” celebration. On Sunday, April 29 from 12-3pm at the Town Building, a number of Wayland citizens will be on hand to share their firsthand impressions of driving the Prius and/or Volt. There will also be individuals who live in homes powered by solar energy, one a designer of such homes.

Wayland with Lincoln and Sudbury wins Solarize Massachusetts Grant

  On April 12, representatives of Wayland, Lincoln and Sudbury joined 14 other communities in the Hopkinton Town Hall to learn of their selection for the Solarize Massachusetts program. Solarize Mass encourages the adoption of small scale solar PV by deploying a coordinated education, marketing and outreach effort, combined with a tiered pricing structure that [...]

2012 Boston Marathon Runners from Wayland

Wayland Patch 4/15/12: 2012 Boston Marathon Runners from Wayland.

A Taylor-made career for Wayland ‘Lucky One’ star

Wayland Town Crier 4/15/12: A Taylor-made career for Wayland ‘Lucky One’ star. First things first. Taylor Schilling is no relation to former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling. A reporter’s suggestion that she claims to be his love child is met with laughs. Taylor Schilling laughs easily and possesses a self-deprecating sense humor as well. The [...]

Local animator Alex Salsberg and the art of satire

Somerville News 4/15/12: Local animator Alex Salsberg and the art of satire. “I’ve been drawing my whole life,” Alex Salsberg exclaimed over a cup of coffee, “When I was six, I decided I wanted to be a newspaper cartoonist.” A native of Wayland, Massachusetts, and current Somerville resident, Salsberg is an artist devoted to socio-political satire, and has created a wide breadth of works in myriad mediums since being a boy with a dream. Now creating comic strips, illustrations, animations and more, he has branched out of his original passion substantially

Lisa Nickerson and Russ Becker are among Wayland residents running for charity in the Boston Marathon

Wayland Patch 4/15/12: Wayland Runner Raises Money to Fight Homelessness. Lisa Nickerson knows running the Boston Marathon is an extreme way to fund raise, but that's actually part of the appeal. “It’s a Boston tradition," Nickerson said, acknowledging that the difficulty of this particular marathon makes it infamous. "It’s a privilege to be a part [...]

Man who died at Wayland Town Meeting had a life of adventure

Wayland Town Crier 4/14/12: Man who died at Wayland Town Meeting had a life of adventure. Steven Allen was a fixture at Wayland’s open Town Meeting for 50 years, doing what he considered his civic duty since his family moved to town in 1962. So when Allen, 84, died on the floor of Town Meeting [...]

State expands program to encourage solar power

Mass High Tech 4/13/12: State expands program to encourage solar power. The state has announced an expansion of a program introduced last year aimed at boosting the amount of solar power in the state, selecting 17 communities to participate in the 2012 Solarize Massachusetts (Solarize Mass) Program. Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard Sullivan joined representatives from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) at Hopkinton Town Hall Thursday afternoon to announce the program, in which the state allows solar installers to bid on a number of projects in a given town at a bulk rate. While homeowners pay less to get solar power, solar installers get a boost in business resulting from the combined push in those towns. MassCEC, in partnership with the DOER’s Green Communities Division has selected the cities and towns of Acton, Arlington, Boston, Hopkinton, Melrose, Mendon, Millbury, Montague, Newburyport, Palmer, Pittsfield, Lenox, Shirley, Sutton, Wayland, Sudbury and Lincoln to participate in Solarize Mass.

Articles on first four nights of Town Meetings

For complete details on all the motions and arguments made at Town Meeting, check the Wayland Patch's Live Blog.  WaylandeNews is also live blogging at http://waylandenews.com/wordpress/atm-news-and-forums/atm-live-blog/.   If you are on your mobile phone, you can access the WaylandeNews Live blog on your mobile phone here Wayland Town Crier 4/13/12: Town Meeting update: Voters OK study [...]

Q&A With Alberto Salazar

bigleadsports 4/13/12: Q&A With Alberto Salazar. Alberto Salazar made his marathon debut at the 1980 New York Marathon. He won the race again in 1981 and 1982 but his ’82 race at the Boston Marathon where he defeated Dick Beardsley in the race dubbed, “The Duel in the Sun,” was his introduction to legendary status in New England. Born in Cuba, reared in Wayland, Massachusetts, Salazar currently lives in Oregon. The new book, 14 Minutes, is the memoir of Alberto Salazar, the most accomplished, charismatic, and controversial marathoner in history.

Intel-OARS Innovation Workshop, Thursday May 3

Intel-OARS Innovation Workshop to be held on Thursday, May 3 from 6-9 pm  Innovation is vital to our quality of life.  High school students – You are the innovators of the future!  Intel and OARS have teamed up to offer an exciting hands-on workshop that provides clear examples of innovation and a chance to experience the [...]

Mannequin Down! Local Display Triggers False Alarm

Wayland Patch 4/13/12: Mannequin Down! Local Display Triggers False Alarm. Drive past a certain Wayland chiropractor's office at Halloween and you're likely to find a witch being toted into the office by a couple of firefighters. At Christmas, you could find Santa Claus bent over with obvious back pain from toting that heavy sack of toys. Right now, you'll find what appears to be a dog-tired runner who has fallen down just short of the finish line. That Boston Marathon-themed display at Dr. Matthew Cooper's chiropractic office proved so convincing that a passing motorist caught a glimpse and then reported an emergency to dispatchers at the Public Safety Building across the street.

Expanded state program gives solar opportunity to four towns

Wayland Town Crier 4/12/12: Expanded state program gives solar opportunity to four towns. Homeowners and businesses in four area towns can now get solar panels installed more cheaply, thanks to a newly expanded state program. That program, Solarize Massachusetts, includes Hopkinton, Wayland, Sudbury, Mendon and 13 other towns, an expansion announced by the state yesterday at Hopkinton Town Hall.

Medical Emergency Ends Fourth Session of Wayland Town Meeting

Wayland Patch 4/12/12: Medical Emergency Ends Fourth Session of Wayland Town Meeting. The fourth session of Wayland's 2012 Annual Town Meeting ended abruptly Thursday night after a man collapsed on the town meeting floor. Board of Selectmen member Sue Pope was speaking at the podium when Wayland Fire Chief Vinnie Smith rushed to the front [...]

ZIP Code 02563: ‘Sandwich’

WBUR's Radio Boston 4/12/12: ZIP Code 02563: ‘Sandwich’. Radio Boston and The Drum, Boston’s Audio Literary Magazine, have teamed up to ask you to write about your favorite neighborhoods in a project called ZIP-Code Stories. We are happy to announce this round’s ZIP-Code Stories winner is Daniel Roberts. Roberts is originally from Wayland, Mass. and now lives in New York. His ZIP-Code story is centered in Sandwich on Cape Cod — a town Roberts says he’s always enjoyed the name of.

Photo Video Store Will Go to Auction

Wayland Patch 4/11/12: Photo Video Store Will Go to Auction. Owners Jim and Lynn Piecewicz have reluctantly agreed that letting the Photo Video Store in Wayland go to auction is the most reasonable course of action given the taxes owed. On April 3, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue seized the store for failure to pay $32,071 mostly in sales taxes. Jim Piecewicz said his store had been progressively losing money throughout the past several years, but had experienced a particularly sharp decline in the last several months.

Wayland resident named Broker of the Year

Wayland Town Crier 4/10/12: Wayland resident named Broker of the Year. Mary Lentz of Wayland has been named Broker of the Year by the Commercial Brokers Association (CBA). She is principal and executive vice president at McCall & Almy, a Boston-based commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm focused on tenant representation and strategic real estate advice. The organization recognizes one commercial real estate professional annually at the CBA’s Achievement Awards.

Opportunity to see treasures from Wayland’s past

Wayland Town Crier 10/10/12 Opportunity to see treasures from Wayland's past. What’s in your attic, basement or scrapbook that tells a story of Wayland life in years past? Do you have a menu from the Mansion Inn or Seiler’s “Ten Acres”? Do you have a school yearbook or your football uniform, maybe photos of different forms of transportation or depictions of rural life in Wayland? On Thursday, April 26 from 7 to 9 p.m., the Wayland Historical Society and the COA will be offering a special opportunity to see treasures from Wayland’s past. In addition to a more formal presentation discussing pieces from the Grout-Heard House Museum collection, there will be exhibit tables of memorabilia from resident collections.

Murdered girl’s dad urges teens to find a balance

Wayland Town Crier 4/11/12: Murdered girl's dad urges teens to find a balance. With a scale set on the podium in front of him — a gift to his young daughter years ago — Malcolm Astley urged close to 100 students and parents in the Natick High auditorium last night to strike a balance in their lives and relationships. Although Lauren would “roll her eyes and ask why a parent would ever give a balance to a kindergartener” as a present, the Wayland man said his daughter “was beginning to get it” as she entered adulthood.

Police warn about scams

Recently, the Wayland Police Department has responded to numerous complaints regarding attempted scams targeting the elderly residents of Wayland. In these scams, elderly residents are being targeted by telephone. During these telephone calls, residents are contacted by a person purporting themselves to be law enforcement in another state or country. The latest attempt occurred when [...]

Department of Revenue: Owners of Seized Store Owe $32,000

Wayland Patch 4/10/12: Department of Revenue: Owners of Seized Store Owe $32,000. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue's seizure of Wayland's Photo Video Store in early April came after more than two years of attempting to collect back sales taxes. Bob Bliss, a DOR spokesman, said the Photo Video Store first came to the attention of the DOR in August 2009. The store's owners, James and Lynn Piecewicz of Chelmsford, began receiving notices to pay back sales taxes in November of that year.

Wayland and Weston residents perform well at bridge tourney

Wayland Town Crier 4/10/12: Wayland and Weston residents perform well at bridge tourney. Roz Rosenthal of Wayland recently finished first at the Eastern Mass. Bridge Association (EMBA) sectional tournament. Playing with Richard Giles, Carole Cushing and David Cancian, she won the Swiss Teams at the Winter Sectional in Watertown. Other local winners included Karen Sirkin and Kim Goodwin, both of Wayland, and Linda McCable of Weston, who all won in the 49ers Pairs event. The next tournament is April 13 to 15 at the Armenian Cultural Center, 47 Nichols Ave., Watertown. Players will compete at all levels. The tournament begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Other sessions are Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Cost is $9. Games last about three-and-a-half hours, and players may compete in one or more events for trophies and other prizes. For more information, click here.

DeHoratius publishes Follow Your Fates book series

Wayland Student Press Network 4/10/12: DeHoratius publishes Follow Your Fates book series. Fate is in classics teacher Ed DeHoratius’ favor with the recent release of his own book series titled Follow Your Fates. The Follow Your Fates series is geared to ages eight and up, and works with the theme of creating your own adventure in classic ancient Greek and Roman literature. In this creative format, the reader is the main character, and has the freedom to make his or her own choices throughout the book, including choosing an ending. Each decision the reader makes directs them on a path for the rest of the book.

Wayland PD Makes Arrest in March Home Burglary

Wayland Patch 4/10/12: Wayland PD Makes Arrest in March Home Burglary. Wayland Police have arrested a 40-year-old Boston subcontractor on charges he stole a large amount of jewelry and other items from a Wayland Hills Road home on March 18. Det. Sgt. Jamie Berger said Giacomo Cincotti of 115 Tudor Street #9 in South Boston, was arrested March 9 after an interview during which Cincotti confessed to the burglary.

Springfield College Announces 2012 Commencement Speakers

Springfield College 4/10/12: Springfield College Announces 2012 Commencement Speakers. Tim Murphy, head football coach at Harvard University, and Charles H. Rucks, Esq., a well-known community leader, will deliver commencement addresses at the Springfield College 2012 Commencement ceremonies. Murphy will address undergraduates on Sunday, May 13, at 9:30 a.m., at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. The Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, Murphy has led the Harvard Crimson to 10 consecutive winning seasons. His 120 wins at Harvard are the most in the program's history. Known by his peers as one of the game’s finest teachers and motivators, in 2012 Murphy is in his 19th year as Harvard’s head coach and serves as president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Murphy, of Wayland, Mass., earned a bachelor of science degree in 1978 and a master of education the following year from Springfield College. He was a four-year starter on the Springfield College football team, earning a small college All-New England linebacker award as a senior. He did additional postgraduate work at Boston University.

Photo Video Store Seized for Failure to Pay Taxes

Wayland Patch 4/10/12: Photo Video Store Seized for Failure to Pay Taxes. Two bright orange signs on the windows of Wayland's Photo Video Store inform customers that the shop has been "Seized." According to the signs, which appear to have been posted at the direction of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the shop has been "seized for nonpayment of taxes and is now in the possession of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

Mixed reaction to wind turbine proposal for Stop & Shop

Wayland Town Crier 4/9/12: Mixed reaction to wind turbine proposal for Stop & Shop. About 30 residents showed up at the Planning Board meeting last week to consider the green initiatives that Stop & Shop is preparing for its new store at the Town Center. The most controversial component of the project for board members and residents is the proposed six wind turbines that would generate about 1 percent of the energy needed for the store.

Community Emergency Response Team reacts to tornado

Wayland Town Crier 4/8/12: Community Emergency Response Team reacts to tornado. As part of the Wayland Community Emergency Response Team’s (CERT) 10-week training program, the trainees participated in a simulated search and rescue event at the Public Safety Building. This was the second search and rescue exercise during the 10-week training program.

Mosquito spraying program is canceled

Wayland Town Crier 4/9/12: Mosquito spraying program is canceled. Mother Nature is helping out with mosquito control this year. Citing abnormally dry conditions, the East Middlesex Mosquito Control Project has canceled its annual spreading of the biological larvicide, Bti, for the first time since the program started in 1987. Crews traditionally drop ground-up corn cobs coated with the pesticide in mid-April from helicopters hovering over wetlands in Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland, Weston and other parts of the 25-city-and-town service district.

Goddard School in Wayland participates in Earth Hour 2012

Wayland Town Crier 4/9/12: Goddard School in Wayland participates in Earth Hour 2012 . Over 100 children from The Goddard School in Wayland turned off the lights and stepped up for the environment on March 30. As part of World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour 2012, children participated in a number of engaging activities to spread the message that by working together, each one of them can make a positive impact toward a sustainable future. More than 45,000 Goddard School children across the country joined in.

Wayland resident named finalist for Student Leader of the Year

Wayland Town Crier 4/8/12: Wayland resident named finalist for Student Leader of the Year. Kush Bhagat, a member of Wayland High School’s Class of 2012, was one of the 24 student leaders from across the country who were the finalists for the Student Leader of the Year Award sponsored by the Student Leadership Training Program. Bhagat was recognized for his contributions to his school and to his community with a Student Leader of Merit Award, as well as a scholarship and special grants.

By the numbers: Town elections

Wayland Student Press Network 4/7/12: By the numbers: Town elections. A graphic of eligible voters, votes cast and number of contested races in recent elections.