1997 was a year to spend, spend, spend
Published on December 31st, 1997
STONEHAM, MA - If The 1997 calendar year began with an important vote and concluded with an equally crucial vote--$45 million decisions that will shape the future of Stoneham and put a crimp in some residents' wallets.
But in between the Town Common and School Renovation project, there were other newsworthy items which we should not forget.
So let's take a quick look back at some of the highlights and lowlights in Stoneham during 1997.
January
*Nearly 1,400 voters show up at Stoneham High School for a special Town Meeting to approve a $4.6 million Town Common and municipal parking lot proposal for downtown Stoneham. The Town Common passes by a 698-56 count but the proposed new municipal parking lot next to the Fire Station passes by just 42 votes. It was the second time Town Meeting voters had seen the project after it failed to get the required two-thirds majority by nine votes in December.
*83-year-old High Street resident, Grace Ross, is rescued by neighbor, Ray Gregoire, when he pulls her from a two-alarm blaze that destroys the home.
*Fire Chief William McLaughlin announces his retirement after 30 years in the department and four years as chief.
*A Superior Court judge agrees that the Zoning Board of Appeals erred when they granted a variance to allow a home on just a 3,200 sq. ft. lot on South Park Avenue off Perkins Street in 1995. The ZBA's decision had been appealed by the Planning Board.
February
*Stoneham Savings Bank announces plans to build a two-story garage and addition behind its main office at 359 Main Street. Later in the year, town boards quickly grant the necessary permits to begin construction.
*A proposal to build a rooftop antenna on One Montvale Avenue causes town officials to propose a moratorium on telecommunication antennas until a bylaw can be written to regulate their size and locations.
*Selectman Mark Vaughan announces that he will not seek a third term on the board.
*Residents first learn of the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall's visit to Stoneham--set for late September.
March
*Cobra owner Anthony Ferrari, 33, of Rodgers Road, pleads guilty to violating Wildlife Protection Laws and is given a $5,000 fine. Ferrari's lost pet Cobra kept an entire neighborhood and Robin Hood elementary school in fear for an entire summer before the snake was discovered alive in a classroom full of students in the fall of 1996.
*A public hearing is held at the Middle School to discuss the proposal to renovate the town's four elementary schools--thus beginning the debate over the site for the next Central School.
*Pomeworth Street residents express their opposition to a Skateboard Park on Capen Street, forcing the Selectmen to ask the Skateboard Committee to rethink their choice of upper Pomeworth Park as the facility's location.
April
*The third largest storm ever pummels Stoneham and the rest of New England on April Fools Day, dropping two feet of snow over a 24-hour period. Franklin Street is closed from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. when a utility pole crashes across the road. The storm forces the postponement of the local election for one week.
*The delayed election finally occurs with Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello winning a record-setting fifth term on the board and Finance Board member Anthony Kennedy edging Planning Board member Frank Vallarelli for the other Selectmen's seat.
*Vallarelli claims that absentee ballots were wrongly accepted at the Town Clerk's office because of the impending blizzard and requests a recount. The Selectmen's race results do not change following the recount, but in the Constable's race, the margin of victory by Bennie Pasquariello over Robert Haggerty Jr. is narrowed to an unprecedented one vote.
*The Planning Board and Symon Zaltman come to an agreement on conditions regarding the development of a four-lot subdivision off Rowe Hill Road. The agreement ends months of dispute between the two sides which led to Zaltman's appeal of the board's initial denial. A group of neighbors would later appeal the subdivision approval.
*State Rep. Patrick Guerriero announces that he will run for Mayor of Melrose, which he easily wins in November.
*The former East School site is chosen over upper Pomeworth Park by the School Facilities Committee as the location of the proposed new Central School. The School Building Committee would later reject the East School site and shift to the land behind the Middle School which had only been briefly reviewed previously.
May
*The Town Clerk's position remains elected after Town Meeting voters shoot down Town Clerk Annamae Arsenault's proposal to make the position appointed by a 161-104 margin. Arsenault had already announced her intention to retire in 1998.
*Town Meeting approves $300,000 to allow the School Building Committee to hire an architect to develop plans for the proposed elementary schools including new facilities for South and Central Schools and major renovations at Robin Hood and Colonial Park schools over the next eight years.
*The 5.7 mile Tri-Community Bike Path receives $133,000 for engineering studies, but fails to get the necessary $1.2 million for the entire project. Proponents of the proposed railbed path that stretches from Stoneham to Woburn and Winchester, are hopeful for full funding the following year.
June
*Skateboarders finally get their park at Pomeworth after the Selectmen hear pleas from parents and youths in an overflow crowd at Town Hall.
*Two family horses, owned by the Donovan family of Emery Court, die after a possible poisoning just two days before the family and town are headed to court. The Donovan family filed a civil suit against several town officials, including Police Chief Eugene Passaro and Selectman John Biggio, claiming that officials used their authority to harass them concerning alleged Board of Health and zoning violations on their property.
July
*The Walgreens Drug Store at the corner of Elm and Main Streets opens after many months of hearings concerning the store's impact on pedestrian a vehicular traffic at the busy intersection.
*E. Coli bacteria is discovered once again in north Stoneham for the second time in the last two summers.
*The Planning Board continues its assault on the owner of the Tony's Tile warehouse on Maple Street after a barbed wire fence is constructed around the location. Planning Board members threaten to pull their special permit unless the barbed wire fence is taken down and permit conditions are adhered to.
*Central School Principal Nancy Peterson announces that she will step down to take a similar job in Danvers. One month later, Middle School Asst. Principal Kathleen Windisch is chosen to replace Peterson.
*The Life Care Center Nursing Home at Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC) opens the doors of its 113-bed facility.
August
*This summer month is traditionally a slow news month and this year was no exception with the razing of the former George Mann Chemical building next to the Middle School the most newsworthy event. Despite the demolition, the Middle School is able to open on time.
*An overnight fire at Papa Gino's Restaurant on Main Street forces the establishment to close for a week.
*Stoneham was the site of two major lottery wins when Fulchinos' Mobil Gas Station sells a $1 million scratch ticket to a Stoneham man and McDonough's Liquor Store sells a $100,000 Mass Cash ticket to a Wakefield man.
September
*Unlike August, there was no shortage of news in this month as the Vietnam Moving Wall pays a visit to Stoneham, attracting nearly 100,000 visitors during its week-long stay at the high school.
*The selection of the Middle School land as a possible alternate site over the East School location for the new Central School begins to pick-up steam.
*North Main Street residents learn of two proposals in their neighborhood. Stoneham Dental Care receives ZBA approval to move from Central Street to the corner of Broadway and Main Street. Cumberland Farms announces plans to build a four-lot subdivision behind the Main Street Gulf
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