welcome to talking news we are delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beech street center cindy jonathan and irene we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper program benefits dogs by bram berkowitz is your dog barking at the window whenever people or other dogs walk by does it try to attack the mailman excuse me when he or she comes around if so there is a good chance that the dog has lots of pent up energy and is yearning for some more exercise and playtime with other dogs in two thousand and eleven belmont established the offtheleash program to meet this need allowing residents and nonresidents to purchase permits so their dogs could run without a leash at select parks in town dogs can run off the leash at fields at the belmont high school minus the turf field or running track winn brook grove street pequossette and town field the program is currently at its most successful having issued one hundred and twelve permits this year the most to date according to june howell program supervisor at belmont recreation department an informational meeting will be held to further discuss the program and allow people to provide feedback on june 20th the thing i really want to stress to people is that the program doesn't just benefit dogs and dog owners it benefits everyone said belmont animal control officer john maguranis the dogs that are well socialized with people and other dogs and get the opportunity to run and play and burn energy those are the dogs that go home and sleep and relax residents can pick up permits which must be renewed annually from town hall a maximum of four dogs is allowed per ownerwalker including professional dog walkers and the program will issue up to two hundred permits the town uses the money earned from the program to hire a dog trainer to provide lessons to dog owners about everything from park etiquette to understanding a dog's behavior owners must clean up after their pets accept responsibility for their dog's behavior and must not allow their dog within one hundred and fifty feet of tot lots areas designated for young children i think it's a great program and i support it one hundred said maguranis who said a good group of dog owners is typically at poquessette park between eight hundred and nine hundred and thirty am on most days the dogs get to know each other and the people get to know each other they have a blast prior to two thousand and eleven belmont had a similar program in place called goose busters but maguranis said the program did not have a lot of oversight and permits were pretty much issued to anyone now he said dogs must be licensed and have all of the proper vaccinations before they are eligible for a permit they must also adhere to a pet behavior assessment and review of the regulations with maguranis this said maguranis involves a trial off the leash session to see how a dog behaves with other dogs it also involves going over the rules like how to report incidents where one dog may have bitten another he said maguranis said he has had to turn away some dogs but it is very infrequent he also said if dogs are not one hundred ready to be off the leash owners typically have the opportunity to work with the trainer hired by the town to get them ready jonathan westcott mercantile expands for second time in belmont by joanna tzouvelis belmont residents mary westcott thomajan and lynne czamanske have found a way to combine their creative talents into a refreshingly new retail concept many years ago thomajan and her sisters envisioned opening an upscale old style general store offering a unique selection of gifts home decor artisan goods and one of a kind vintage finds in a nostalgic atmosphere czamanske signed on to be chief mercantile officer and that dream became a reality when she and thomajan opened the doors to westcott mercantile's flagship location at four hundred and thirty eight common street in belmont in april two thousand and fourteen despite many construction woes in cushing square the lack of movement on the cushing village project and the ongoing work being done on the trapelo road corridor project westcott mercantile has managed to maintain a steady loyal consumer base and even expand amid these constraints lynne and i have worked diligently to promote all of the unique local businesses in cushing square said thomajan founding the cushing square merchants association in two thousand and fifteen within six months of the opening store's day they expanded their flagship location at four hundred and thirty eight common street to add additional space next door at four hundred and thirty six common street and while doing so incorporated an adjoining door into revolve a woman's boutique consignment store forming belmont's first indoor market they have now opened a second location in belmont center at sixty three leonard street former the home of marmalade it's still the hub for curly girl designs owned by leigh stanley people are really excited about it remarked thomajan according to thomajan stanley approached her to discuss a merger between westcott and marmalade that would allow thomajan to fully transition into owning the store over a threemonth period leigh felt she found in westcott mercantile an owner and store that would continue to be the home for her curly girls designs products while maintaining a similar flavor and vibe that would carry on in the marmalade vision for its loyal fans and customers said thomajan thomajan said each of her belmont stores will be unique and only a small portion of products will be cross merchandise both will offer gift baskets for any occasion the cushing square store will continue to have more of an old style general store flavor we have been told that our customers feel like they're on vacation when they step inside the cushing square location said thomajan the belmont center location will have a more modern feminine appeal said czamanske with unique gifts fashion and home decor thomajan said they also plan to fully stock their british cadbury candy products in belmont center along with their fan favorite taffy and artisan old fashioned hard candies the two level belmont center store will offer whimsical garden and home decor on the lower level marmalade customers who didn't realize westcott was moving in were pleasantly surprised when they saw mary and lynne's familiar faces behind the register our customers are happy to know that this was a mutual merger done amicably between two local business owners this is why we did not close and reopen as something new it's a nice community based story said thomajan wescott mercantile was recently voted number one choice for gift shop in belmont and received silver recognition second place for gift shop in the region including belmont arlington watertown waltham allston cambridge brookline in the two thousand and sixteen reader's choice cindy a taste of thai food at patou by joanna tzouvelis there's no need to travel twenty four hours to thailand in order to taste the southeast asian country's food simply drive to patou at sixty nine leonard street in belmont center coowner dan tanabat of dedham is originally from thailand and has been managing the restaurant since it opened in two thousand and three patou is owned by the little lotus corporation which also owns siam lotus in norwood the word patou is derived from the sanskrit language used in buddhist prayer and means darling sweetheart or beloved said tanabat tanabat believes the secret to his restaurant's thirteen year success has been good food great service and consistency people who came here ten years ago can get the same curry things never change here said tanabat he takes pride in the low turnover of his staff of eight many of whom have been with him for more than seven years the atmosphere's casual and comfortable with upscale decor imported from thailand such as the lighting with silk pendants in the shape of hot air balloons and artifacts such as statues and a carven table tanabat describes the flavor of thai food as a balance between salty sweet sour and spicy many of the ingredients used are imported from thailand such as the curry spice and in the summer all the produce is purchased at belmont farmer's market tanabat's favorite item on the menu is the whole red snapper head and bone included in the chili sauce many people come here for that and not many thai restaurants carry this item he said tanabat said he has been told by many customers that patou's pad thai is the best they ever had currently his popular seasonal menu item is soft shell crab lightly battered and topped with mango pico de gallo available from april to september beef short ribs with curry are a popular year round menu item another seasonal favorite dessert item on the menu is sweet and sticky rice with fresh mango and cream of coconut patou also offers items on the menu for people allergic to nuts seafood gluten and protein they'll custom make dishes for people with allergies tanabat says the restaurant has a section here for private events such as surprise birthday parties showers or book clubs outdoor seating is also available in warmer months irene moose still on the loose by bram berkowitz laurie manjikian of pearl street said she first thought she was following a human others reportedly thought they saw a large deer or a horse but no it was a moose and a slippery one at that belmont's newest visitor evaded local and state authorities all last week and as of press time on tuesday june 7th was still on the loose the state's environmental police who had been hot on the moose's trail at the end of last week in hopes of tranquilizing the moose and getting it out of the populated area for safety reasons have called off their search letting it be and move into more forested areas and go on its way is the best thing that can happen said david stainbrook a deer and moose biologist with the state's division of fisheries and wildlife the best thing is to try and let it move on its way it might very well move north the female moose which stainbrook said is likely a yearling was first seen on the sidewalks of main and prescott streets in watertown just after five hundred am wednesday june 1st from there it was seen galloping through the streets of belmont making appearances throughout the day on waverley avenue trapelo road concord avenue juniper road by mass audubon habitat education center and wildlife sanctuary prospect street crestview road and woodfall road on june 2nd the moose was again sighted early in the morning on summit avenue and mill street and then later in the morning again on juniper road near mass audubon habitat education center and wildlife sanctuary the moose again made appearances late in the morning of june 3rd near robinwood road and was last seen as of press time on concord avenue at four hundred and forty five am saturday june 4th to me it was humongous because i thought it had to be a deer said manjikian the moose was estimated in the seven to nine foot range and manjikian's husband raffi said the moose could poke its head over the family's six foot fence soon after its first sighting on june 1st the moose had gained a large following with regional and national media outlets following the story a satirical twitter account called thebelmontmoose was created and had massed three hundred and seventy followers as of press time according to marian larson chief information and education officer at the state's division of fisheries and wildlife moose are more common in central and western massachusetts which is part of the reason the moose in belmont drew such a big reaction it's not very common for them to show up this close to boston she stated we don't have records per se on this but it's been a few years that i can remember a moose in this close to boston belmont animal control officer john maguranis said he thinks a moose in belmont is a result of all the recent development and demolishing of trees in the area which is destroying the habitats of wild animals to me that's the real story he said i'm not surprised at all we have a moose and wouldn't be surprised if we soon have a bear stainbrook said it's not unprecedented to see a moose within the i495 corridor but that this moose went a little further in than normal some of these interstates tend to limit their movement he said if they're traveling is taking place at three hundred am without a lot of traffic they might feel comfortable crossing the interstates stainbrook said the moose is most likely in this area because of natural dispersal although it is not exactly clear what triggers a moose to disperse or where this moose may have come from younger moose tend to leave their families and travel to new areas to prevent inbreeding with family members he said jonathan changes approved for zoning bylaws and single residence by jack kelly town meeting moderator mike widmer brought the second night of the annual town meeting to order at seven hundred pm monday evening at the chenery middle school the business at hand for the approximately three hundred town meeting members attending was segment b financial and budget articles most notable was the approval of article six concerning the construction of oversized dwellings in belmont's single residence c zoning districts after nearly four hours of presentations comments and debate the meeting concluded at approximately one thousand one hundred pm widmer opened the deliberation of article six by saying it is the single most complex issue of his nine year tender as town moderator article six contains proposed amendments to the existing bylaw on single residence c zoning among other stipulations the amendments would require applicants seeking to construct quote a very large addition or a new house on a nonconforming lot ie less than nine thousand square feet that increases gross floor area by more than thirty to obtain a special permit from the planning board it would also restrict the building height of a house to thirty feet to the mid point and thirty four feet to the highest point limit the placement and require screening of heating ventilation air conditioning equipment and propane tanks and limit the house to the average of the setbacks of the adjacent houses the article explicitly requires consideration of the impact on the neighborhood of the proposed construction article six is a direct result of the citizens petition approved by the town at the april two thousand and fifteen town meeting for a moratorium scheduled to expire on june 30th two thousand and sixteen on the construction of houses over thirty two feet high this petition spearheaded by steven pinkerton and peg callanan town meeting members precinct seven was a result of the alarm caused by the growing number of demolitions and construction of oversized houses in single residence c zoning districts planning board chairman elizabeth allison said we the planning board have worked hard to develop a revised single residence c zoning plan to address redevelopment in a fair and equitable fashion we worked closely with the citizen petitioners and the belmont residents who provided their inputs and ideas in the nine public hearings on this article before voting on the article six members deliberated on four recently proposed and contentious amendments to subsections of the article these included elimination of design as a consideration in the special permit review process amendment seven allowing the addition of a second story by right amendment eight installation placement of the air conditioning equipment and propane tank replacement five feet back in other words ten feet from the front of the house adjacent to the house and minimizing the visibility amendment two and installation five feet back ten feet from the front of the house amendment six the selectmen warrant committee and planning board announced they had voted unfavorable action on all four amendments cindy belmont high school alumni gives back by harry lane can emily cook ski soar flip and land on her feet she sure can cook is a freestyle skier and aerialist who is a three time olympian two thousand and six two thousand and ten two thousand and fourteen six time us champion and nine time world cup medalist including three gold born in belmont she began skiing when she was four years old started to compete in the sport of freestyle at fourteen and made the us freestyle team at seventeen she attended belmont high school carrabassett valley academy in maine and the university of utah she currently lives in park city utah one of her mantras is chin high work hard smile this attitude developed in her days as a young athlete as young gymnasts my teammates and i would stand in line chins held high tummies tucked in and big smiles on each of our faces whether we had just had our best performance were injured or had trouble at home we would do everything in our power while at practice and competition to hold this pose this armor protected us it kept us strong and resilient and was vital when obstacles got in our way positive things that come out of sport perseverance dedication and unwillingness to give up but oftentimes it's grit which has been so ingrained can prove challenging especially after retiring from sport as an athlete at the olympic level it's easy to define yourself by your sport when you retire who are you the challenges of major transition in life can be tough for all of us not just athletes what has cook been doing since she retired from skiing competitively perhaps her updated mantra should be chin high work hard smile and give back cook currently works for the audio brand skullcandy as their manager of sport and human potential the majority of her work takes place in skullcandy's high performance lab working with local and elite level athletes her role also led her to work closely with scientists who study alzheimer's disease and memory loss one of the things we've noticed is that people with alzheimer's have far more vitality happiness and just have a better day when they're listening to music although these research projects do help to contribute to the new product development process cook says the main goal is to drive an important part of skullcandy's overall mission as a company which is to encourage people to live life at full volume cook also manages programming for the nonprofit classroom champions which matches athletes with underserved classrooms around the country and coaches young athletes at the utah olympic park she's an ambassador for right to play and kids play international and has traveled to rwanda jordan and tanzania to help bring the life lessons of sport to the world's most disadvantaged children cook has also spent time on the board of the speedy foundation the philanthropic organization dedicated to understanding mental illness through education research and advocacy founded in honor of her friend and olympic medalist aerialist jeret speedy peterson and currently serves on the board of a us ski and snowboard association spending extra time coaching us development athletes or looking to breakthrough on the world cup circuit irene summer concerts begin june 22nd payson park music festival announced its 26th summer concert season at the corner of elm street and payson road the first concert this season battle of the bands is set for six hundred and forty five pm june 22nd this event is sponsored by belmont savings bank a concert will be offered every wednesday evening at approximately six hundred and forty five pm although start time in august is earlier due to less sunlight for young lemonade stand entrepreneurs the event offers the opportunity to manage the ppmf popsicle stand with eleven current openings for popsicle vendors the children will receive a stipend beginning july eight ppmf will produce four children's concerts at one thousand and thirty am fridays in case of rain the kiddy concerts will move inside the library in total the series produces between fifteen and sixteen concerts each summer all of this is sponsored without any financial burden to the town through the contributions of belmont neighbors and friends local businesses members of several town departments and the support of the belmont selectmen jonathan seeking fathers and sons for interviews this june and july the belmont story project will allow fathers and children to celebrate their relationship by recording an interview with each other the belmont story project is a local oral history project modeled after national public radio's storycorps belmont story project encourages belmont residents to record and share their stories preserving them for future generations to schedule a recording session at the belmont public library contact nancy mccolm at six billion one hundred and seventy nine million nine hundred and thirty two thousand eight hundred and seventy to schedule a session at the belmont media center contact patty mihelich at six billion one hundred and seventy four million eight hundred and forty two thousand four hundred and forty three for information go to belmontpubliclibrarynet listen to the recordings already contributed to the belmont story project go to soundcloudcombelmontstoryproject cindy fundraising underway for new veteran's memorial by joanna tzouvelis belmont does not have one location in town commemorating all belmont's veterans from all the wars since the civil war including the war with spain world war i world war ii the korean war vietnam war the persian gulf war the iraq war and the afghanistan war but in two thousand and seventeen the committee behind the efforts to create a belmont veteran's memorial at clay pit pond hopes to make the sight a reality the current veteran's memorial at clay pit pond is a small plaque mounted on a stone dedicated may 10th one thousand nine hundred and forty with a flagpole and is located near the corner of concord avenue and unsworth street working with the same designer as the conservation committee for the clay pit pond walking path the veterans memorial committee developed plans to repair the rock walls surrounding the flag and stone improve the path leading to and around the site and add individual granite stones noting each of the nine wars around the site with memorial benches inscribed with pavers with messages honoring veterans serving their country's wars and conflicts the project is estimated to cost two hundred and fifty thousand according to committee member angelo firenze former selectmen i had a lot of friends that went to vietnam and suffered this is a way of giving back to those who deserve to be recognized need to be recognized and should have recognition it's time for belmont to have a vet's memorial recognizing all the wars collectively in one location said firenze who served in the us army reserves his son peter is a lieutenant commander in the us navy his daughterinlaw paula is also a commander they're both currently stationed in washington dc brigadier general kevin ryan chairman of the veterans memorial committee said he hopes it will be a place where residents of all ages visit to play run jog walk or reflect he wants it to be as inclusive as possible and doesn't want people to feel left out the reason i'm passionate about this project is i want a place for future generations in belmont to go where they can reflect on the veterans and people who volunteer their service for their country those who served those who died an educational place said ryan the committee has raised about four thousand so far toward the design work they hope to raise the remainder of the funds through corporate sponsorship and brick sales a single brick is one hundred double is an one hundred and seventy five memorial benches are twenty five thousand if you are interested in purchasing a brick or sponsoring the project contact firenze at angelorfirenzegmailcom irene thank you for joining us for this episode of talking news