A busy year for local news
Published on December 30th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - Out with the old and in with the new as we say goodbye to 2002. Time can be fickle and unpredictable. Just ask Jane Swift and the Patriots, as she cleans out her desk on Beacon Hill and our Superbowl champs wistfully remember the glory days of January and February.
At a national level, we entered 2002 still in shock, still reeling and frightened since September 11th, and only beginning to feel the economic bruising that is now expected to continue into 2003.It still felt like the worst of times for so many.
In Stoneham, tightening budgets were repeatedly reviewed, even as new schools were being envisioned here. We watched cautiously as the Massachusetts Highway Department and the MDC circled closer, seeking territory like an unwelcomed predator. Below are excerpts from some memorable Stoneham stories from this past year.
JANUARY
Jan. 9:
School Department announces final building plans
By Al Turco
The School Department this week announced the final time line for completion of the elementary school building project.
The construction contract for the new Robin Hood School went out to bid on Dec. 18. Contractors walked through the site on Jan. 4. Robin Hood bids will be opened on Feb. 5. The fourth and final school building, Colonial Park, goes out to bid on Jan. 16. The bids will be opened on Feb 26. An article at the March 4 Special Town Meeting--called by Selectman this week--will ask citizens to appropriate no more than $6.5 million to complete the project.
The School Department believes construction must begin by April 1, 2002, to be on track for a September 2003 opening.
Jan.16:
Schools will ask for $21.6M
By Nancy Donahue
Twenty-one million, 600 thousand dollars is what is needed to run Stoneham schools next year, according to Superinten-dent Dr. Joseph Connelly.
Last Thursday he presented to the School Committee draft one of the fiscal 2003 school budget.
"This is a basic budget that calls for a certain amount of money to help us maintain a level of service we currently enjoy," Connelly said.
This 21.6 million figure represents a 7.24 percent increase over the current year.
Jan. 30:
Reading rink rage killer
gets 6-10 years in prison
Last week in Cambridge, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Charles Grabau sentenced Thomas Junta, age 42, of Reading, in connection with the death of Michael Costin, then aged 40, of Lynnfield. Judge Grabau sentenced Junta to 6-10 years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter.
FEBRUARY
Feb. 13:
School Department budget
projection is growing
By Nancy Donahue
Things tend to worsen before they get better, and so it is in the case of the School Depart-ment's fiscal 2003 budget.
Last week, Connelly said that the draft one budget would have to go even higher, to $21,800,711, in order to accommodate increases in special education costs. Those costs cannot be ignored since the state mandates the programs to be provided to special education students.
Feb. 20:
Town jobs may be cut
By Al Turco
Town Administrator David Berry told selectmen last week that Stoneham should spend $53,520,860 in fiscal 2003 to best provide for the people under a balanced budget.
All the dirty words are on the table as Stoneham officials struggle to balance the town budget in tough economic times. Berry is considering increasing employee insurance costs and freezing salaries, and Superintendent Joseph Connelly may be forced to cut teachers.
Feb 27:
Stoneham Independent
wraps up print debate
By Al Turco
After reviewing our print debate, the Independent recommends supporting the schools request to add $6 million to the debt exclusion to finish the school building project.
Valid reasons exist to vote for and against Article 2 of the March 4 Special Town Meeting, but upon closer examination, the scale tips toward yes. The paper takes this position because the best reasons to vote against Article 2 are based not in the failings of the Article but in frustration with past actions or ongoing policies of the School Department.
MARCH
March 6:
Town Meeting postponed
to SHS gym, March 11
By Al Turco
Two articles, 1,300 seats, 1,500 registered voters and zero votes...
Too many people came to the March 4 Special Town Meeting, and they all left dissatisfied.
The meeting was scheduled to start at the Town Hall Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., but by 8 p.m. hundreds of people were still in the precinct check-in lines stretching down the Town Hall steps out to Central Street.
Inside the auditorium amidst shouts of "Come on!" and "Bulls_t!" Moderator Michael Rotondi stepped to the stage microphone to plead for patience. Rotondi then conferred with Stoneham Fire Captain Joseph Rolli. Minutes later, at 8:05 p.m., Rotondi postponed the meeting.
"There's a seating issue and a safety issue," Rotondi said.
Rotondi continued, "The Fire Department doesn't want all these people in here. We have to close the meeting and hold it next Monday at Stoneham High School at 7:30 p.m."
Town Counsel Bill Solomon said, in his opinion, legal challenges to the rescheduled Monday, March 11, meeting would fail in court.
March 13:
Town Meeting Supports Schools
By Al Turco
The March 11 Special Town Meeting voted 1,065 to 239 to add another $6 million to an almost $ 40 million debt exclusion from Proposition 2-1/2. Citizens approved the original debt exclusion in 1997 at Town Meeting and on a local ballot to fund construction of four new elementary schools under a partially state-reimbursed program.
March 27:
Fire Department Study
is complete
By Al Turco
Tuesday the Fire Department Study Committee completed its review of the MMA Consulting Group's study of staffing numbers and organization at the Stoneham Fire Department.
Committee members agreed with the consultants that Stoneham should maintain the current Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response system, which combines a response from Stoneham Fire and Action Ambulance; immediately train all dispatch personnel as emergency medical dispatchers; continue to dispatch a simultaneous response from the Stoneham Fire first responder company and Action Ambulance to life threatening emergencies; and have police dispatchers, following emergency dispatch procedures, dispatch Action Ambulance to life-threatening situations.
The Committee voted to recommend increasing staffing so 10 men can be scheduled to respond to calls at all times, three superior officers and seven firefighters.
APRIL
April 10:
Election 2002 analyzed
by the candidates
By Al Turco
Does good weather mean a large turnout? Not always. Does a low turnout mean the voters endorse the status quo. Not necessarily.
In the April 2, 2002, Town Election, around 17 percent of registered Stoneham voters narrowly re-elected August Niewenhous to the Planning Board over former Board of Appeals Chairman Chuck DeCoste and replaced incumbent Selectman Darin Leahy with Charles Smith. Edward Pinato, a longtime resident and former Stoneham police officer beat out Elizabeth Parise for the open Housing Authority seat.
Deciphering any code from the vote or coherent message from the people is difficult. But the candidates tried to make some sense of it all.
Niewenhous said he believes that the people respect his proven track record as a member of the Planning Board. The race was close, and in response to a question about what he plans to focus on in office, Niewenhous mentioned working on the sign bylaw, an area his opponent, DeCoste, had mentioned during the campaign. This highlights the similarity of the two candidates.
Niewenhous attributed the poor turnout to civic burnout. "I think that most people felt like they had discharged their civic duty after going out to both nights of the Special Town Meeting," Niewenhous said.
Smith agreed with Niewenhous' theory.
"People were a little frazzled from the schools vote," he said.
And he said the lack of competition may have kept turnout low. "We only had three contested races, a total of six candidates going for them," Smith said. "Maybe more candidates would mean more voters."
April 24:
Stoneham company helps New Yorkers breathe easier
By Shawn P. Sullivan
One of the many frightening images that will always be associated with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 is that of the monstrous, pitch black cloud of dust and smoke that barreled down the streets of downtown Manhattan and swallowed up the terrified New Yorkers who could not outrun its wake. That billowing nightmare, which clogged the streets of the city and rolled across the Hudson River, left traces in the surrounding buildings that survived the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
Some remnants of that awful late summer morning remain apparent in the wreckage that lingers around Ground Zero and stays caked on neighboring skyscrapers that were spared their own demise. Much of it, though, stays hidden, stacked in inches of dust in the ducts of buildings that sucked that hellish plume into their vents and rendered whole floors temporarily unusable.
Cleaning those air ducts, returning them to such pristine condition that surgery could be performed in them, is a gargantuan task. It is a mission, however, that has been embraced as a patriotic duty by Dan Greenblatt and his staff at Envirotech Clean Air, Inc.
Envirotech is an air duct-cleaning business that Greenblatt established in Cambridge in 1988 and moved to Spencer Street in Stoneham in August of 2001.
Shortly after Sept. 11, Greenblatt got in touch with some of his contacts down in New York City and asked what he and his company could do to help restore the region surrounding Ground Zero. He got his answer when, in February, Greenblatt, his right hand man, Ron Fallon, and a staff of shift managers joined up with a band of union workers to begin cleaning the air ducts of a 47-story skyscraper that stood in what was once the immediate shadow of the World Trade Center.
"It's very emotional down there," says Greenblatt, who since February has spent a few weekends in Downtown Manhattan. "This is my way of contributing to what needs to be done down there."
MAY
May 1:
St. Patrick Parish discusses
abuse and healing
By Al Turco
Last Thursday Saint Patrick Parish gave parishioners a night to vent their anger about the child molestation scandal plaguing the Catholic Church.
Fathers Stanley, White, Coughlin and Porter are among the accused. All of these men served at St. Pat's. As of last Thursday, public accusations against them involved incidents in parishes other than St. Pat's, but a Stoneham family came forward this week on television, accusing Father Shanley of molesting their son in the 1960's at St. Pat's.
Father William Schmidt took what he describes as a first step in the healing process by opening the floor to parishioners last Thursday night in St. Pat's upstairs church.
"There was a lot of anger and frustration," Schmidt said.
May 15:
Middle School student threatens to kill classmates
By Al Turco
Last Thursday someone scrawled a message on the sixth grade girls' bathroom wall threatening "to get or to kill" people at Stoneham Middle School on May 23, according to Superintendent Connelly.
Connelly said the threat was related to a fight last Wednesday between students off school property. Connellly said the students involved were identified by the school administration and punished, although he did not want to get into the details of their punishment. No criminal charges were filed.
Middle School principal James Andreottola called an assembly last week to talk to students about the incident, and he sent a letter home to parents this week.
May 15:
Fiddler on the Roof at SHS
The Stoneham High Drama Club performed "Fiddler on the Roof" to crowds at the High School Auditorium last Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The show was the last in a long line of successful performances under the leadership of Drama Club Director Beth Zieff, who is very busy these days with her baby daughter, Lindsay. Co-Director Danielle Catalano will take over for Zieff, and from the look of last week's performances, she has a lot of talent to work with.
JUNE
June 5:
Two infected birds
found in Stoneham
Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) informed the Stoneham Board of Health that it has analyzed and identified two positive crows for West Nile Virus (WNV) within Stoneham.
These findings are not a surprise, since WNV was found last year in Stoneham and surrounding communities of Melrose, Wakefield, Reading and Woburn. On Friday, May 24, Wakefield, our neighboring community received a positive crow.
WNV was first identified in birds in Massachusetts in the summer of 2000. Last year there were more than 1,000 WNV-positive birds identified in the state, and nearly 11,000 dead birds were reported.
June 26:
Communities rally
to unite against I-93/95 Interchange plan
By Dennis Anderson
Approximately 700 concerned residents filled the auditorium at Parker Middle School on Monday, June 24 to voice their concerns, observations and beliefs regarding the Massa-chusetts Highway Depart-ment's (MassHighway) Route 93/95 Interchange plan that will swallow 77 Reading homes and replace them with a three-or four-tier flyover super-structure 75 feet in the air.
This project, which has been deemed by MassHighway as second only in size and scope to the Big Dig, will also directly affect the communities of Stoneham, Woburn, Wakefield, Winchester, Burlington and Lynnfield.
JULY
July 3:
Two groups join forces on petition to limit I-93/95 expansion,
By Pam Mieth
Volunteers from the Tri-community Highway Action Group (THAG) will be circulating petitions in Stoneham and Woburn over the next few weeks, collecting signatures to oppose the expansion of the Route I-93/95 interchange as it's now being proposed to add to those already collected by another group opposed in Reading.
THAG and PRESERV (Protect Residential Environ-ment with Sensible Engineer-ing), a Reading group, will be presenting the petitions to state officials urging the feasibility study process be stopped.
Darlene Bruen, leading the charge as president of THAG, said the two groups, "have common ground. We absolutely don't agree with the proposals we've seen so far."
July 17:
MDC wants Lynn Fells property for open space
By Nancy Donahue
Some say that the MDC is getting a little greedy; others say maybe so, but that's better than living with alternatives which could end up hurting a neighborhood.
Last week the Board of Selectmen heard again from the MDC regarding a proposal to purchase 25,000 square feet of land at 2 Lynn Fells Parkway and again voiced concerns about the project.
MDC representative Kenneth Collette said that the MDC wants to buy property from the current owner, who operates a retail gas station on land adjacent to the vacant lot. The MDC will pay $675,000 and is interested in developing the land into passive recreation space and granting an easement to neighboring J.J. Grimsby Restaurant for parking.
But if the MDC purchases the lot, the town of Stoneham loses tax revenue since the MDC is exempt from paying property taxes. This does not sit well with Stoneham officials.
AUGUST
August 14:
MDC passes over selectmen
By Jake Peterson
After three unsuccessful attempts to acquire a parcel of property on the Melrose/ Stoneham line with help from the Board of Selectmen, the Metropolitan District Commis-sion has reached an agreement with the property owner to buy it using a more conventional method.
On Aug. 1, the Associate Commissioners for the MDC gave it their go-ahead nod for the purchase of the 25,000 square feet of land that it failed to obtain through three previous attempts at an eminent domain transaction. Without the backing of the board of selectmen, the MDC had to go the more traditional route of acquiring the sought after lot for the purchase price of $675,000. Reportedly, the transaction may be completed within the next two weeks.
Perplexed at the new development, Board of Selectmen Chairman Tony Kennedy remarked, "They came three times to pitch why they should be allowed to obtain the property through eminent domain and three times we said,'We do not approve of this move, primarily because of the loss of tax revenue for the town of Stoneham.' "
Aug. 21:
More work needed at SEC
By Jake Peterson
The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs has reviewed the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report (SDEIR) for the proposed Stoneham Executive Center at the former Boston Regional Medical Center site, and concluded that it is less than satisfactory.
This SDEIR was intended to address concerns raised by some of the 240 letters written to the EOEA office in regards to the original plan and its impact to water drainage and traffic patterns.
"The SDEIR recently reviewed by EOEA shows that this project, as currently proposed, would have significant adverse impacts on the historic parkways within the MDC's Middlesex Fells Reservation", according to the report which was released to the public on Monday.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 11:
Day of Remembrance
By Joe Haggerty
Though a year has passed since the tragic and earth shattering events of Sept. 11, the reverberations of the disaster still echo throughout Stone-ham, throughout Massachusetts, throughout the United States of America. The day has brought ceremonies of remembrance and reflection, and a delicate balance between the world we once inhabited, and the dangerous new world of today.
"We have many different events planned for the day," said Stoneham Fire Chief Lawrence Lamey. "But we are also on the highest of alert, and are mindful that there could be more attacks, particularly on this day."
South School, Central School, and the Stoneham Middle School all have encouraged their students to wear patriotic clothes and observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m.
The students from Robin Hood and Colonial Park are currently at the old Central School, and have incorporated a little creativity in their plans. The kids are scrawling all the victim's names on dixie cups, and then placing all of the cups within a chain link fence in front of the school.
While we all wrestle and grapple with ways to overcome such a black hole on the calendar, thoughts might drift to the most tangible life lost to the people of Stoneham: Anna Williams Allison.
Stoneham resident V. Blake Allison, husband of Anna, continues on with life with what must have been an unimaginably hellish grief-stricken year. Every image of the plane crashes, every tribute, every phone call from a reporter eager for a story, all must have gone through one road for Allison. That one road was his beloved Anna.
Sept. 25:
MassHighway
back to drawing board
By Joe Haggerty
Only a day after a miserable reception by Reading residents for the new I-93/95 interchange plan, MassHighway has pulled the plug on the controversial feasibility study.
According to Sen. Richard Tisei, he witnessed the contentious air of the meeting and the questions left unanswered by MassHighway, and scheduled a meeting on Tuesday afternoon with Highway Commissioner John Cogliano. Tisei expressed his doubts about the ongoing feasibility study, and MassHighway agreed to go back to the drawing board.
MassHighway will work with the towns of Woburn, Reading, and Stoneham to create local task forces comprised of citizens, legislators, community representatives and local state officials, and will then attempt to design a reasonable plan.
OCTOBER
Oct. 2:
A new station eyed for Stoneham Fire
By Jake Peterson
The Fire Station Committee has been reviewing possible new locations for a future home for the fire department with a full report due at October Town Meeting.
Committee member Anthony Kennedy said the process is moving along just fine thanks to their design firm, the McGuire Group, who has come up with four proposed locations. Kennedy said the conditions they stressed to McGuire in determining the future location was cost to tax payers and a priority on town owned land so that land taking would not be an issue. "We don't want a design that laid a heavy burden on tax payers or took private property," said Kennedy.
Oct. 30:
Protests dog meeting
By Joe Haggerty
A few unexpected guests, some furry and others bearing signs and special interests, were guests both inside and outside at last week's special Town Meeting. The meeting had several big-ticket issues such as the debate on the feasibility of transforming the Senior Center barn into an adult day care center, and actions the town of Stoneham is taking to address a steep reduction in State Aid.
"State Aid cannot be guaranteed to help Stoneham," wrote Finance and Advisory Board Chairman John Warren in a letter addressed to the voters at Town Meeting. "Any line item increase in excess of 2-1/2 percent must be met with matching reductions in personnel and operations in other areas. At best, look for departments to be level funded, most likely reduced."
Article One concerned a report from the Fire Station Design Review Committee which amounted to a twenty minute plus slide-and-music show which strolled down the shared memory lanes of the Stoneham fire station and its relationship with the town.
What the presentation didn't explain was the possible new sites for any new fire station, a timetable for the project, or the fire department needs that any new station would have to address.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 6:
GOP Romney and
Healey take vote
By Joe Haggerty
The voices of Stoneham have spoken in the gubernatorial general election for the state of Massachusetts, and they seemed to go right along with many other suburban towns in the North Shore by carrying Republican ticket Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey to victory.
A total of 9,113 people punched their voting ballots this year at the Stoneham Town Hall, and Romney and Healey garnered almost 55 percent (4,951) of the vote from Stonehamites. Romney carried every precinct in Stoneham with a high margin of 256 votes in precinct four and a low of 76 votes in precinct one.
Nov. 27:
Hall of Fame on the Way
By Nancy Donahue
The Stoneham High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is just about ready to accept nominations for formal recognition of well deserving individuals or teams who have made their athletic mark on Stoneham High School and beyond.
"Stoneham High School has a proud and distinguished heritage of athletic achievement. In recognition of that, the Stoneham School Committee established an Athletic Hall of Fame in order to recognize those individuals whose integrity, sportsmanship and character have enhanced the overall educational experience of our youth," said School Committee Chairman and Hall of Fame Co-chairman Daniel Moynihan.
DECEMBER
Dec. 4:
Let's hear it for the coach
By Joe Haggerty
The image of Henry "Bob" Margarita has taken on so many different shapes and meanings during his legendary tenure of education, coaching and support of the students at Stoneham High School. "Coach" or Mr. Margarita, as he is known to so many that walked the corridors of Stoneham High, was still a young man of 44 years, handsome and strong, when he first joined Stoneham in 1964 as the head football coach and history teacher.
Margarita attended the pre-Thanksgiving rally believing it to be a normal assembly before the big game. Only when he saw the honored guests, and some covered surprises, did he begin to suspect that something was awry.
Something was indeed awry, as Stoneham officials took the pep rally as an opportune time to dedicate the Stoneham High weight room as the Henry "Bob" Margarita weight room, and to present Margarita with the first engraved Stoneham High alumnus rocking chair.
Dec. 18:
Officials surprised by new MassHighway plan
By Patrick Blais
Much to the surprise and annoyance of a multi-community task force, MassHighway commissioner John Cogliano proposed a short-term solution for the I-93/95 interchange without first consulting the group he appointed to investigate the problem.
The possible short-term alternative, first reported by the Boston Globe, suggests that two lanes be added to each side of Route 128 at the current interchange. While Cogliano claims this alternative will avoid seizing properties from community residents and businesses, members of the task force believe they should have been contacted before the alternative was issued to the press.
"I haven't seen any plans so I couldn't really endorse anything. If they can do this without taking any land, I would say, 'Go for it'... but only when they show us the black and white plan and the task force endorses it," said Stoneham selectman and task force member Anthony Kennedy.
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