Stoneham year in review, part II
Published on January 6th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - This is the second in a two part series focusing on the major Stoneham news stories in 1998.
• The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a plan for a 70 unit assisted living facility on Franklin Street. CareMatrix, which purchased the property at 128-140 Franklin Street, formerly home to Mac's Landscaping, plans a three-story structure which would house approximately 104 residents, mostly senior citizens.
• The sale of BRMC to Doctors Corporation of America was reportedly still pending in mid-July, with no reportable progress and no date given to the town indicating when the sale would be final.
Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting advised that the town balanced its fiscal year 1999 budget based on the impending sale and resultant tax benefit to the town of approximately $400,000.
• The Stone Zoo unveiled its long-awaited Mexican grey wolf exhibit in mid-July which is the first in a series of improvements to revitalize and eventually transform the zoo into the world's first earth park.
• The Town Common/Parking Committee began thinking big in terms of a common in the downtown area, as five preliminary plans were reviewed on July 15. The five schemes ranged in magnitude with respect to actual size and accessibility from surrounding streets.
• A July 30 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting got heated when parties on both sides of the VNA-Beacon Street issue came face to face with no resolution being attained.
ZBA Chairman Lawrence Allen suspended the hearing in order to allow board members to review the extensive material regarding the 1983 decision to grant the VNA a lease in the former East School site. A subsequent meeting on the matter, held on August 27, yielded the board's support of the building inspector's decision that the VNA's use of the building had changed over the past 15 years and, in some instances, did not conform to the 1983 ZBA provisions.
August
• Farm Hill Pharmacy, at 236 Main Street, closed its doors on August 10 after more than a quarter of a century of service to Stoneham residents.
• The School Committee pursued, but later dropped, its bid to purchase the former Mann Chemical property on Central Street. The move was made in response to the proposed plan for the property by owner, KLKM, LLC, to construct a four-story office building next door to the Middle School. Agreements with the building's owners later in the year yielded a modified plan which satisfied Middle School safety concerns and supplied the school with an increased parking area.
• The Tri-Community Bike Path received endorsement by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in mid-August along with $1.2 million recommended for appropriation.
• Vocell Bus Company, Inc. of Medford offered private bus service to Stoneham students for the upcoming academic year, following elimination of the school-funded service in order to balance the Fiscal Year 1999 budget. Despite what many considered steep fare, ($360 for the year per student), a significant number of Stoneham families signed up for the service as safety concerns loomed.
• Two teens were killed on August 29 when the car they were riding in crossed the median strip of Route 28, flipped and collided with an oncoming van.
Michael Canada, 19, of Saugus was reported dead at the scene. His passenger, 16 year-old Jessica Kirschning of North Reading, was pronounced dead en route to Lahey Clinic.
Police believe the youths may have been involved in a game of cat and mouse with another vehicle, reportedly a dark colored truck which police have, to date, been unable to locate. September
• Students and parents prevailed as they appealed to and received from the Board of Selectmen resolution of their school transportation nightmares.
On September 22, the board voted to appropriate money to reinstate bus service for eligible Stoneham students with the caveat that a plan for the School Department to fund the service in coming years be developed. Town Meeting subsequently voted to appropriate the necessary funding from the municipal side of the budget to the School Department, and, on October 26, the buses were back on the roads.
• The 15th annual Town Day celebration was held on a warm, sunny September 19. The Stoneham Chamber of Commerce called this year's festivities the "very best ever."
• South School students began matriculating at the High School this academic year as the old South School awaited demolition and rebuilding. South School Principal Dr. Paula Sline called the transition to the high school a great success. The new South School is anticipated to be ready for occupancy for the 2000-2001 school year.
October
• An late-night accident on route 128 in Woburn on October 5 killed a tanker truck driver and severely crippled traffic in Stoneham and surrounding towns the following day as police shut down a section of the highway for hours. 63 year-old Saugus resident Kenneth Jackson was thrown from the tanker and pronounced dead at the scene.
• The Stone Zoo proudly showed off its latest addition on October 2 with the unveiling of the snow leopard exhibit.
• The Stoneham Women's Club celebrated the start of its 100th year. Despite its dwindling membership, the group, started in 1899, continues its service to the Stoneham community. including sponsoring and honoring a Stoneham High School Student-of-the-Month.
• Town Meeting voters gave more power to the Board of Selectmen on October 26 by granting it the ability to overturn an appointment made by the Town Administrator by a simple majority, rather than a four-fifths vote.
• Small restaurant owners in Stoneham learned they will not be increasing business through liquor sales anytime soon, as Town Meeting voters opposed granting liquor licenses to establishments with seating capacity under 100. Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello was the lone member of the Board to oppose the article, calling it "a vice."
November
• Stoneham produced a 56 percent election day turnout on November 3, which overwhelmingly supported State Representative Paul Casey's re-election.
In addition, the majority of the town supported Democrat Mike Festa for state representative in the 35th Middlesex District along with the Cellucci/Swift ticket for Massachusetts governor and lieutenant governor.
• Stoneham Savings Bank was again the target for a robbery on November 3, this time at its 88 Main Street branch. Thieves made off with an undisclosed amount of money. Stoneham police do not think that this incident is related to robbery at the bank's main branch in May.
• Stoneham's first Skateboard Park opened when installation of wooden structures by Zero Gravity was finally completed. The park was a long time in coming and was the result of hard work on the part of local skaters, the Youth Commission and the Board of Selectmen.
• History was recorded in Stoneham on November 9 as the family of Stoneham native Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon won their long-waged battle with the United States Department of Defense as it was announced that Fitzgibbon was indeed the first U.S. casualty of the Vietnam War. A ceremony to mark the occasion, where the Pentagon has changed the start date of the U.S.'s involvement in the war from January 1961 to November 1955, was held on the Town Hall lawn with dignitaries present including Congressman Edward J. Markey and Under Secretary of Defense Rudy DeLeon.
Fitzgibbon's sister, former Stoneham Selectman Alice Del- Rossi, was instrumental in helping the family win its 15 year
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