welcome to talking news we are delighted to have you with us listening to our present ation by members of the beat street center irene jonathan and martha we will be reading  trysts sarus celebrated her one hundredth birthday on november twenty fourth her son george and daughter in law nancy held a party in her are not on nov eighth and nineteen at the taxi arche greek orthodox church in watertown with one hundred family members and close friends sars is the mother of three children two deceased grandmother of seven one grandson deceased and has seventeen great grandchildren she was honored honey november twenty seventh greek orthodox church by father anasazi oh yes and in this and the parish for being the most senior member cyrus was born in connecticut her parents immigrated to america the she was married nov twenty six nineteen thirty seven her husband passed away november five nineteen eighty seven just three weeks shy of their fiftieth wedding anniversary tara said she that time has passed by quickly her secret on jeopardy is eating a lot of greens dandelions beans broccoli and her faith in god is strong and powerful and has guided her through many difficult times in her life she advises the youngest generation of today to eat well and go to church jonathan from miller's kitchen aid to syrian refugees by melissa russell the homeless is so creamy so delicious that every customer who has tasted it has to boil a jar said laur who was so moved by the plight of syrian refugees that she wanted to help fisher has a armenian heritage created middles kitchen name for her grandmother medline nown initially a project for the international school of boston where she is in eleventh grade miriam's kitchen has become a side business as well as a mission to draw attention to the suffering in her grandmother's homeland when people what my ethnicity is i say armenian my mother was raised in armenian in our armenia and came here at age eleven my grandparents lived with us saw him very close to my heritage she said fisher said although she prepares armenian specialities regularly her grandmother's cooking is particularly inspired throughout the holiday season the hummus in particular is special due to the unique combination of spices including the uniquely our meaning edition of q mn and aleppo pepper she said it's really good fisher said most people put garlic cloves directly in their hummus but she makes a paste that's the difference the armenian community in syria was established in one thousand nine hundred fifteen following the genocide by the ottoman turks according to fischer fisher's grandmother came to the us with their husband and daughter fischer's mother and massive destruction and many in armenian community are fleeing and experiencing the challenge of resettlement and unemployment in order to help with the resettlement effort fisher donates all proceeds from minerals kitchen  charitable organization relief organization established by syrian americans which offers emergency assistance to syrian families who have relocated to armenia some people after they try the hamas give me more than they because they want to make a bigger donation to the relief effort she said right block farm for example which sold the hammers how the homeless at her farm stand made its own contribution on top of its sales so far she has raised close to two thousand dollars she said i like that the l eb oakum part three of a charitable organization has specific projects for what they distribute when you don't die and you can decide where it goes fisher says projects include food clothes and financial assistance for families as well as funding for host families psychological support for those who have suffered trauma and loss economic empowerment programs for women involved in the cultural traditions of needlework and weaving language classes and other programs fisher was planning to make a film about meals kitchen is part of a fundraising effort it may be difficult as her grandmother doesn't like to talk about her life in the middle east fisher said own officer can only observe her reactions when she free hears about the destruction in her homeland i can tell you how she is affected how it pains are to watch the news she said her hometown is devastated it is obviously painful first revolve consignment boteach increasing square since then her business has grown from one store to six stores she opened a second store in belmont center in two thousand and eleven in two thousand twelve she opened a store in lexington center in two thousand and thirteen she opened a store in winchester center last year she opened a store on newbury street in boston revolve sells pre owned designer clothing and accessories something because danielle has always been very passionate about i love designer clothes and found that consignment shopping was a way to have that fabulous wardrobe on a budget i loved it so much i want bring it to my town said christan yo as she reflected on the history of her business she was a stay at home mother with her four children for eighteen years and today two of her daughters lauren and elisa have joined her team lauren manages the newbury street store and alisa manages the winchester store she recalls after being in business in belmont for just two months how much her idea was embraced by shoppers in belmont today she said customers who tell her they do revolve tours visiting several of her stores in one day this industry is growing faster than any other industry and retail said because tonya since opening her store at two sixty two new danielle said the amount of consignment inventory has expanded so much she realized the urgent need for additional space in her belmont center store the solution she is going to expand into the neighboring space former site of subway which has been vacant for about a year she plans to break the walls between her current store and the neighboring store on two levels first floor and basement and hope to have the renovation complete in the spring of two thousand and seventeen the store will grow from fifteen hundred square feet to three thousand square feet because derek now said the secret to her success is making her customers feel comfortable when they shop by creating a welcoming atmosphere and offering personalized expert service with stylists who can create a look with any budget for any occasion she just helped dress customers for lunch with obama the academy awards a red carpet movie opening and much more inventory changes almost hourly everything is one of a kind there are no back ups which keeps it exciting and interesting said because tag now the stigma of consignment is no longer an issue people who have expensive taste will come into our store and have no problem buying a chanel bag from us said because tagg knows daughter and winchester store manager elisa people can walk in any time without an appointment to shop or consign because tagg know is very selective about the clothing she consigns the styles need to be current and the labels need to be designer or better label brands such as chanel louis vuitton burberry j crew eileen fisher actress or vineyard vines for women or men martha velleman high school to compete on quiz show film one high school was recently announced as one of the sixteen teams from across massachusetts to compete on the eighth season of w g h's televised academic tournament high school quiz show more than one hundred in ten schools vied for a spot in the broadcast schools that received a sixteen impresses me every season said high school quiz show host billy costa high school quiz show is so much fun to host and to pop and i know that  of all ages will get into the spirit of the competition as much aside to the top sixteen teams vents to compete in the televised single elimination bracketed academic tournament that will determine a state champion the season will culminate with the governor's cup challenge when you g b ages high school quiz show state champion team takes hosted by w t v eight at its past and studios high school push show begins taping at w g v eight in january in front of a studio audience it december second through twenty second smaller works offers a variety of small affordable original paintings ceramics prints photographs and textile are as well as jewelry and cards all made by local artists first started in two thousand eight the belmont a gallery of art has had this small work show and sale and is an opportunity to find find gifts for the holidays while also each priced at thirty dollars with proceeds going to help to support of the gallery programs a festive reception for the small work show will with live music and refreshments takes place between six and eight december second events are free and open to the public small works holiday show and sale offers original art by over thirty five local artists in a variety of media selected with gift purchasing in mind gallery visitors and shoppers and like enjoy the festive display created by the artist while also finding one of a kind interesting is for holiday giving all the work presented in the show is available for sale items taken at the time perth purchase visitors and smaller show will find one of a kind art pieces that will make special guests for loved ones and others sure to make recipients smile said the gallery director rebecca richards no more gallery of art will but open special extended shopping hours on thursday and friday newlands for the small work show more details come in found on the galleries website bellmawr gallery dot org since opening its doors in july two thousand and five the belmont gallery has presented close to seventy shows featuring the work of dozens of artists the gallery has been recognized for its support and promotion of the arts and culture with a gold star award from the massachusetts cultural council in two thousand and seven irene first glimpse at recreation strategic plan by jack kelly the recreation department strategic plan was presented to the board of selectmen on november two at the beach street center town administrator david hale kicked off the meeting explaining the origins of the strategic plan the belmont recreation department initiated this planning effort in early two thousand and sixteen in response to the recommendations of the financial task force report with the objective to improve the department's organizational effectiveness develop a road map for where to go over the next three years and improve coordination among the various stakeholders the recreation commission is a nine member body appointed by the select remit is to develop and maintain programs for belmont residents during their leisure time jamie sabai strategy coach and catalyst for one hundred and ten percent consulting the colorado company hired to conduct the strategic plan provided a brief overview of the findings and recommendations of the nine month study the strategic plan built on the contributions of numerous stakeholders including community members and leaders park and recreation users in the recreation department the recreation commission and town staff she said by engaging these stakeholders trends and gaps in service demographic and economic changes in current and into dissipated community and customer interests were identified the plan was developed to help the recreation department create an framework that will allow for agile responsive and creative management she added key study recommendations a point on a temporary basis nine to twelve months and experienced and recreation or business executive to lead the organization and to begin implementing the strategic plan addressing key issues such as the town school department relationship and its implications on the ownership use and maintenance of town and school recreation assets and the use by youth sports groups of sports fields current permitting processes and fees and future relations and collaborative efforts facilitate a dialogue clarifying and improving the relationship between the recreation department and belmont public schools regarding the future of recreation service delivery and the role that the recreation department can and should play going forward established facility use fees and charges while taking into consideration the required short term preventative and long term maintenance and care of facilities augmented financial resilience by the use of the recreation service categories and development of specific budget areas to reflect those categories including an annual in depth assessment to identify and more accurately reflect the true expenses for these categories martha butler receives national through ribbon of lords by christine murphy general principle michael mcallister formerly the butler principal present at the u s department of education national blue ribbon award to the butler community at his school assembly held on november twenty third a callous traveled to washington d c to represent popular and receive the award at a formal presentation held there on november eighth butler has recently named a twenty sixteen national blue ribbon school for exemplary high performances it i one among two hundred seventy nine public and fifty private schools receiving this honor and as one of three schools recognized in massachusetts for this honor butler principal danielle betancourt welcomed the audience filled with students staff school and local officials we are here today to show our gratitude to all of the people who made this school so unique and wonderful says betancourt i am honored and privileged to be able to work with all of you and i applaud what you have done and continue to do for our children every day this is truly a phenomenal community mcalister greeted the students as he had while being principal there the two unfolded the flag and showed it to the applauding crowd jonathan checked for seventy five thousand dollars presented to the town by john a case of ellis one of the highlights during the half time at the thanksgiving day football game between the belmont high school morag hers and the watertown high school writers was the presentation of a check for seventy five thousand dollars by the belmont boosters to the town this presentation marks the completion of the private fundraising campaign led by rick jones belmont boosters board of directors to build a press box at the v h s harris field the board of selectmen will hold a vote to accept the gift at an upcoming meeting according to jones the belmont boosters support all the h s cat athletes including the many teams that use harris field year round the boosters led this campaign with one of their largest donations ever and they would like to thank the countless belmont families that have contributed to booster fundraising events throughout the year the belmont savings bank foundation gave a leading contribution that helped to close of this campaign other major donors and through the brendan grant foundation and belmont media center which are the first organizations to join the boosters in the campaign the belmont media center also will assist the town to install state of the art wiring in the new press box for improve the media coverage cambridge made the final institutional gift book the campaign over the top belmont business men and citizens joe antonella's and don joe pharo each made major guests jones also was to recognize the widespread support from belmont of logic teams the marching band and parents gifts came from friends of belmont football parents of musical students friends of velma lacrosse friends  season the belmont d p w will offer extra options for cardboard recycling on the first saturdays of december january and february from nine am to noon residents can drop off their cardboard at the town yard thirty seven c street the cardboard must be flattened but does not need to be cut into three foot by three foot sections at the end of february the town will evaluate the program to determine if it should extend beyond these three saturdays cardboard drop off only nine am to noon december three january seventh february for at town yard thirty seven c street just a reminder cardboard is banned from landfills and waste to energy plants in massachusetts it must be recycled for curbside cardboard collection the town has specific conditions for this material so it can fit into the recycling truck cardboard must be flattened and cut to three foot by three foot sections large quantities of cardboard must be tied or taped in stacks no more than nine inches high more good news on the recycling front at the d p w recycle day event in october three hundred seven cars came through and donated or recycled two thousand four hundred forty pounds of textile one thousand five hundred thirty two pounds of books d v d s and c d s one thousand four hundred sixty pounds of bulky rigid plastics six thousand seven hundred and six pounds of electronics five thousand pounds of shredded paper twenty propane tax tanks excuse me and sixty five pairs of glasses watertown savings bank sponsored the shredding and two hundred fifty six dollars was donated to belmont sport for this service thank you to everyone that participated especially to the hardworking volunteers who withstood the rain for questions call six one seven nine nine three two six eight nine martha thank you for joining us for this episode of talking news please join us next week