welcome to talking news we are delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beech street center patty marianne and jonathan we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper patty patty two prospective candidates for selectmen tis the season for pulling papers if you want to run for town office in the upcoming town election on april 4th and it looks like there may be a race for the seat on the board of selectmen currently occupied by sammy baghdadi adam dash and guy carboni have both pulled papers to run for the seat dash is still in the process of collecting signatures and carboni is has turned in his sign nomination papers with ninety six signatures the morning of january 17th the town clerk's office needs to certify fifty of the signatures before his candidacy is official as a press time baghdad could not be reached to comment on whether he plans to run for reelection the deadline to turn in nomination papers is february 14th the deadline for current town meeting members to notify the town clerk if they are running for reelection is january 24th sign nomination papers are due by four hundred pm on february 14th for newcomers and town office positions both prospective selectmen candidates are attorneys for their own private practices carboni is local government experience includes serving on the water town school committee for twelve years and as water town selectman for six years he served as belmont's representative to the mwra for ten years one thousand nine hundred and ninety three to two thousand and three and also served on the noise bylaw committee for belmont dash is currently vice chair of the warrant committee which he has been a member of since two thousand and nine his first experience with belmont politics was when he was appointed to serve on the community preservation act study committee which was two thousand and seven to two thousand and nine since then he has been a town meeting member for precinct one since two thousand and eight served on the zoning board of appeals was vice chairman of this underwood pool building committee and a member of the yes override committee in two thousand and fifteen johnathan johnathan limited resources hinder fight the belmont board of health convened a public forum january 10th at town hall and the status of belmont's opioid needs assessment the purpose of the meeting was to provide an overview of the opioid epidemic review the findings of the towns ongoing opioid needs assessment funded by mount auburn hospital community health department describe local efforts and the resources to combat the epidemic strengthen local and state collaborations and discuss what is required from the town and its residents to battle the crisis jill block a public health consultants with experience conducting studies for mount auburn and emerson hospitals and the town of concord was hired to conduct the opioid assessment which began last fall gathering data from numerous belmont and statewide data sources blocks at eleven belmont residences have died from overdoses since two thousand and thirteen the most recent confirmed death was january two thousand and sixteen she added that in two thousand and twelve one hundred and thirty four belmont high school students reported taking prescription drugs not prescribed to them to get high several findings emerged from the twenty interviews block conducted with belmont school staff treatment and medical professionals family members of substance users and community leaders she said both schoolbased and communitywide prevention education were perceived as limited the stigma surrounding substance abuse and mental health is a barrier to action and private and pride are also prevalent characteristics of life in belmont which inhibits discussion about such issues other interview findings included mental health resources were perceived as limited and frequently cost prohibitive greater involvement from mclean hospital was expected concerned that that no collaborative group exists to take on a community response and there is strong support for greater availability of narcan among all first responders and in schools captain david de marco the fire departments ems coordinator explained that belmont firefighters are currently the only first responders that carry narcan narcan is a medication squirted into the nose during an overdose that blocks the effects of opioid and allows the person to begin breathing again block also said forty of the interviewees were unaware of the confidential drug drop box at the belmont police station for the safe disposal of medications police chief richard mcglaughlin said he does not have adequate space to hold all the drugs that are brought to the drop box at the police station we're getting hundreds and hundreds of pounds of prescription drugs which are very difficult to store and then destroy he said block said the key findings of the assessment to date are the need for better promotion of existing resources in belmont and at the state level and a community education on opioids must be improved to awareness and understanding including the development of curriculum for substance abuse prevention in belmont schools crucially important is a point person task force or unifying coalition to spearhead opioid prevention activities in belmont block said no one is viewed as taking leadership on the issue marianne marianne belmont tony and community service club seeking children's donations relax leading edge and belmont center will partner with belmont high schools belmont toni and community service club for a charitable endeavor monetary and pajama donations for boys and girls will be accepted at the relax leading edge office monday through friday from nine hundred am to five hundred pm february 1st to the 28th at eighty four leonard street for the entire month of february the real estate company will serve as a dropoff point for new winter pajamas for the children's served by cradles to crayons the office will also accept monetary donations for the cause this campaign is time to coincide with the 10th annual boston bruins pj drive to benefit cradles to crayons clients low income and homeless children ages newborn to twelve years in massachusetts new with tags pairs of warm pajamas in sizes newborn to children to eighteen are needed cradles to crayons cannot use used or nearly new pajamas the tags must still be on each donation karen sexton residential sales manager at relax leading edge said we are proud to be working with belmont high school to collect new pajamas that will go directly to local children who need them most the belmont tony community service club at belmont high school has affiliated with the pj drive since two thousand and eleven and raised over four thousand four hundred and collected one hundred and eight pairs of new pajamas last year this year three schools burbank wellington and chenery will join bhs to hold pj days where students and staff may wear pajamas in exchange for a donation at the high school participants will be eligible for door prizes to be donated by local merchants belmont tony and members will collect monetary donations from the community at star market antropola road from one thousand am to two hundred pm february 4th and fundraisers will be held at two fresh pond restaurants chipotle march 7th and bertucci's tba in the early spring the group will dry cars at belmont carwash as its final event in this campaign this year marks the first time that the club will have a pajama dropoff point for the community alice melnikov the bhs community service coordinator expressed her appreciation we are so grateful to relax leading edge for supporting us in this project it really does take a village and they have stepped up to support two of our causes this year first the fight against breast cancer and now the needs of local children who live in poverty and or are homeless patty patty belmont's chinese new year celebration will be bigger than ever by joanne tziotis hundreds of chinese belmont residents will be celebrating chinese new year with a gala at the chenery middle school on january 28th the gala which quickly sold out within the first week of publicizing is organized by the belmont chinese american association founded in two thousand and sixteen chinese new year also called spring festival is celebrated for fifteen days beginning january 28th according to kathy gal one of the organizers of the gala it is the most important and widely celebrated festival in of all in belmont and in china this is the time for family reunions visiting relatives and friends and exchanging greetings for the coming new year it is also a time to bring out the old and bring in the new she said families would come together for dinner in the cherney middle school cafeteria on january 28th followed by a lineup of sixteen performances by chinese belmont residents of all ages including traditional dancing folk songs kung fu comedy and rituals the different groups of performance have been rehearsing for several weeks at the plymouth congregational church and the cambridge center for chinese culture in waltham belmont's chinese new year celebration will be bigger than ever this is the second chinese new year gala celebration in belmont the first was held at the beach street center last year with more than three hundred people this year five hundred and fifty people are expected after last year's gala gauss and many belmont chinese american families had an even stronger sense of community and wanted to raise their voice to the larger belmont community there was a strong feeling that we needed an organization to better promote chinese culture in the town of belmont she said thirteen volunteers established a preparatory committee to set up a belmont chinese american association the goal of this association is to organize a variety of cultural activities and encourage more chinese american residents to be involved in community service and set the model for the younger generations said gal jonathan jonathan belmont town administrator david kale accepts new position by joanna suveles belmont's losses cambridge gain cambridge city manager louis de pasquale announced on january 20th that david kale has been appointed cambridge's new assistant city manager for finance effective march 13th his last day in belmont will be march 3rd it's a bittersweet decision said kale belmont is my second home i am very appreciative of the great experiences i've had in belmont and all the great people i've been able to interact with he said he will always be grateful for the team of talented dedicated and hardworking department heads employees elected officials and various committees he had the opportunity to work with to achieve many accomplishments while working within a framework of limited resources he is in the process of planning the budget for fiscal two thousand and eighteen and expects to submit it to the selectmen by february 13th selectmen chairman mark pullo said it's a real loss for a belmont's community but it's a wonderful job for kale he is a great numbers guy a man of integrity works extremely hard we will miss him terribly and are sorry to see him go said pullo he said the selectmen will lay out a transition and timeline for the search by their next meeting on february 6th the assistant town administrator phyllis marshall will be considered for appointment as the interim town administrator while they searched for a placement for kale and she will also have the opportunity to apply for the position if she desires said pullo kale said the new town administrators should be patient and diplomatic and able to perform the four c's collaborate cooperate communicate and coordinate his greatest challenges over the past four years has been trying to move things forward in a strategic and sustainable way with limited resources the greatest future challenge belmont is facing is the growing enrollment in the schools said kale we need to be able to provide services for the growing in enrollment the high school project will have to move forward the board is trying to work on other major capital projects to see if we can come up with a phasing plan and share what the vision is going forward knowing the high school project is front and center we have a lot of things in the fire but we also have to run the store this is a challenge said kale he is proud of the team of staff he's worked with and help build over the last four and a half years we've been able to strengthen the towns bench and attract and hire more and very good department heads and support staff the town is in a good place in terms of having stability there's something i'm proud of we had a strong team when i came and i think it's even stronger four and a half years later and it will serve the town well moving forward said kale kale himself was no stranger to cambridge he is a lifelong resident and prior to the four years stint in belmont he was the city's director and deputy finance budget director from two thousand and three through to two thousand and twelve in that role his prime responsibility was to develop the city's annual performance based operating and capital budgets mr kale has a strong understanding of the unique characteristics of cambridge and has existing working original relationships with most of our current department heads and familiarity with the many community organizations and neighborhood groups in the city depasquale wrote as assistant city manager he will work to strengthen connections and expand opportunities to enable residents to engage in and understand the city's budgetary processes and other public processes while ensuring that cambridge retains its distinct distinction as an innovative community with a strong tax base that allows a high level of public services and amenities marianne marianne parents and children react to crossing guard accident by joanne suveles burbank elementary school parents and children lined schools street the morning of january 12th to show their love for crossing guard jim mark antonio also a belmont resident who was injured while on duty the morning of january 11th they also held signs to pleading with motorists to stay alert and slow down many of them even made noise as drivers went by ringing cowbells and clappers according to the belmont police report at approximately eight hundred and eighteen on january 11th a two thousand and six honda driven by a belmont woman was heading west on school street when it struck the crossing guard in the crosswalk at school street in sharp road in front of the burbank school the driver said she slowed down because she saw a child on the left side of the road waiting to cross she saw the crossing guard on the sidewalk and thought he was going to wait for her to pass before entering the street her speed was roughly five miles per hour she was not able to avoid the collision officers spoke to the victim at mount auburn hospital he complained of soreness to the hip extremities and head he said he was going to assist the child on the other side of the street when he was hit on his left side by the vehicle and only remembers being on the ground in pain he said he never saw the vehicle coming down the road the driver was issued a citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk according to burbank principal tricia clifford mark antonio's wife jerry said he is doing well has no broken bones is bruised but his home and should make a good recovery through the years many improvements have been made to the walking infrastructure around burbank including on gail road and most recently sharp road clifford stated in an email to parents on january 11th there is still more that hopefully will be done and can be done as both pedestrians and vehicles increase in number around the burbank school as always safety is the main concern and focus we have been working on these concerns over many years and many parents have helped advocate along with the staff at burbank for improvements this will continue and i appreciate your support in this work patty patty belmont supports women's safety with vday performance a memory a monologue a rant and a prayer presented by vday belmont will be held at seven hundred and thirty pm february 17th and 18th at first church of belmont unitarian universalist four zero four concord ave at belmont m m r p is a collection of essays solicited by eve ensler and molly doyle that tell the stories of women who have experienced violence and abuse these stories will be performed by local residents including a belmont selectman belmont police officer a professional dancer a vice principal members of first church of belmont unitarian universalist and semiprofessional performers tickets are available on evette bright or at the door and cost fifteen vday is a global movement that's mission is to stop violence against women and girls v season is february 1st through march 8th when vday events are held around the world to advocate for change and bring about awareness to the continuing issue of violence and abuse against women and girls the designated beneficiary for the proceeds will be new beginnings reentry services incorporated a program for women leaving prison based in the boston area it's the first of its kind in massachusetts and will offer a fully comprehensive residential program with services the vday belmont event is cosponsored by the first church of belmont social action committee belmont human rights community belmont religious council belmont against racism and league of women voters belmont jonathan jonathan area firefighters help battle fatal blazed by joanna suveles ablaze it's six zero six trapellar road at the intersection with agassi avenue has claimed the life of one man belmont fire incident commander captain john mooney believes the victim was in his thirties the man's body was found on the floor of the front room of the third floor after firefighters conducted a secondary search of the home as the blaze was extinguished mooney believes he may have suffered from smoke inhalation and was also burned initial reports were that everybody was out of the house said forzelle a primary search for victims was conducted on the first and second floors but due to the fire conditions and a big hole in the floor between the second and third floors firefighters had to evacuate the building because the fire took over the third floor said mooney the firefighters went into defensive mode and used ladder pipes for about thirty five minutes to knock the bulk of the heavy fire down he said many of the buildings residents were alerted to the blaze by others banging on their doors it's not yet known how many people are homeless due to the blaze mooney said they're now staying at a hotel but he did not know which one according to the belmont board of assessors property database the home is a two family house owned by serenity family of newton the fast moving fire went through the entire building out through the roof the blaze was largely out as of seven hundred am the fire began around three hundred and forty five am the original nine hundred and eleven call went to the waltham fire department reporting a fire at six hundred and ten trapellar road in waltham according to mooney the belmont fire department received the second nine hundred and eleven call the early morning three alarm fire and belmont drew supporting crews from surrounding communities including arlington cambridge water town waltham and lexington the boston sparks association a club that provides food and rehab support to firefighters that blazes around the around the boston area also responded in a series of tweets posted on the early hours of monday morning that cambridge fire department announced that engines one and nine ladder one and the paramedics of squad four were assisting the belmont crews battling the blaze the crew of cambridge's engine five stood by to respond to any additional flagger conflagrations in belmont while the town's crews were occupied around six hundred am the belmont police department announced via twitter that trapellar road was closed as crews dealt with the blaze as of seven hundred and thirty am the road had reopened but congestion remained the department warned of major delays in waverley square and belmont center on pleasant street mill street and trapellar road the cause of the fire is under investigation by five agencies including the belmont police and fire investigators the state fire marshall state police sea pack team and the state fire marshal code in forest officer according to mooney marianne marianne impact of belmont high school's growing enrollment by chris warren belmontwickedlocalcom based on the most recent enrollment data presented at the january 24th school committee meeting the renovation of belmont high school can't come soon enough bhs principal dan richards said enrollment has increased from one thousand one hundred and six to one thousand two hundred and sixty four students over the past six years an uptick of fourteen school committee member elise schuster asked what is the impact have we hired more teachers richard said one additional guidance counselor has been added to staff to accommodate the addition of one hundred and fifty eight students and additional teachers have been funded through annual tax overrides he said thirty two high school teachers shared space in two thousand and ten whereas thirty six share space now as previously reported the massachusetts school building authority board m s b a of directors tapped belmont last january thus beginning a process that will eventually lead to a completely revamped bhs including the construction of additional space to the existing two hundred and fifty seven thousand one hundred and twenty square foot building previously the msba passed over belmont's building proposal for ten years straight the high school building renovation is estimated to cost a hundred million dollars which could be eligible for millions in reimbursement from the msba the msba building process is comprised of eight modules the belmont school building committee formed last april and is currently working on module two in the meantime richard's pointed out the recent purchase of hallway benches so that students do not have to sit on the floor when the library and cafeteria are at seating capacity earlier in the meeting arto asodorian previewed proposed changes to grades three to five beginning instrumental music program for strings and band instruments next school year we have over six hundred students enrolled in instrumental music in grades three through five these changes will allow us to allocate three additional sections of music at the high school he said the changes are based on two factors according to asodorian resources for the third grade beginning string instruction classes currently in place result in class sizes of thirty or more students per music teacher resulting in a less than effective learning setting additionally the fifth grade band and string class schedule results in students who are not enrolled in instrumental music do have study hall periods rather than other instruction which led to a parent meeting to discuss educational inequity last year thank you for joining us for this episode of talking news please join us again next week