welcome to talking news we are delighted to have you with that's listening to our presentation by members of the beech street center marian patti and jonathan we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper patty lyme disease cooler weather is is when ticks thrive now the cooler weather is here we can forget about mosquitoes and the headline grabbing  and start worrying about another disease carrying insect ticks transmitted a number of diseases including lyme disease that affect people and pets and while cold weather may kill off mosquitoes ticks remain a year round threat think sewers of infection and lyme disease is only one of the diseases ticks carry you don't want to be bitten by a tick said dorothy leland vice president lyme disease dot org lyme disease is at an all time high with thirty eight thousand sixty nine reported cases in two thousand and fifteen according to the centers for disease control and prevention however the estimated number of cases is thought to be ten times as high as officially reported cases which would put the estimate at three hundred eighty thousand the agency said the difference is because the c d c does not include all numbers turn in by state and local governments for example because of estimates based on sampling leland said because lyme can manifest itself in many ways it is often misdiagnosed as circular rash and flu like symptoms a typical substance that don't occur into a pattern occur to it's not always easy to characterize and its symptoms often mimic other diseases leeland said plus there is no definitive test for lyme and false negative testing is always a possibility she had often called the great imitator lyme disease can borrow into an or any organ of the body the brain heart muscles and joints gassed to test will and nervous systems inside the ticks that spread lyme disease are most active during fall and winter according to the companion animal parasite council which predicts two thousand sixteen will be a banner year for ticks ticks thrive virtually everywhere in the country with different species prefer ing different locals while ticks are commonly found in heavily wooded areas they also thrive in domestic setting such as gardens landscape plantings and backyard grasses experts estimate that the majority of people who contract tick borne diseases came in contact with the tick that made them male bright in their own backyards it's not just deer that carry the takes that spread lyme disease other rodents like mice can carry to leeland said ticks like most more east environments more than dry ones they like to hang out in wooded areas fields in long grasses and leaf piles leland said your highest risk of in country a tick would be by sitting on a downed log leaning against a tree trunk or gathering fire od she added according to lyme disease dot org here are some ways to reduce the ticks on your property prune trees clear brush remove litter mow crass short and let it dry thoroughly between waterings move shrubbery and overgrowth father from areas recruited by people to make your property unattached unattractive to animals that host that or host techs eliminate bird feeders bird ba and salt likes erect fencing around the property clear away wood piles of garbage and leave piles removed stone walls that provide homes to wildlife have your property chemically treated high fences and planting vegetation that deer are first to a longer term options to deter deer and the ticks they carry tropical for each sprays like the all natural repellent can be applied year round it uses taste and scent aversion ingredients to deter a deer from grazing on for oil age shrubs and trees when outdoors dressed offensively was shoes socks long pants and sleeves loon said clothing that is pre treat it with propellant per methionine can be bought at outdoor stores and last through about seventy washings or you can buy permanent theon spray and treat close yourself leaman said repellents that include deet are recommended by the c d c but more natural options like the caribbean or lemon a look at this oil work to races are on for selectman and library trustees as of february seventh there will be at least two races in the upcoming town election for the two three year board library trustees seats and the one three bike daddy has not pulled papers to run for reelection and has not commented about his decision whether or not to run incumbents gail man and kathleen koch hand and newcomer david have been certified to appear as candidates on the but ballot for board of library trustees there also may or may be a race for the two three years school committee seats as of february seventh though has been certified to appear as a candidate on the ballot for school committee three additional perspective candidates have pulled papers but have not turned them in yet the deadline for submitting nomination papers is five pm on tuesday february fourteen building committee prepares for study by the belmont high school building committee held its thirteenth meeting on february second to discuss the upcoming schedule as they prepare for the feasibility study the third  process required by the massachusetts school building authority m s b a last january the town was invited into the m s p a eligibility period process after ten years of sending in statements of interest currently the committee has twelve responses in hand from companies bidding to be the project manager for the feasibility study which will explore the pros and cons of three potential enrollment groupings grades nine through twelve eight through twelve and seven through twelve the grade seven through twelve and grade eight through twelve configuration offer opportunities to relieve overcrowding at the elementary and middle school buildings each option will need to be studied with respect to educational programs and appropriate physical and program separations according to superintendent john failon failon has been giving cut public presentations on the current and forecasted enrollments in the belmont public schools which predicts a steady increase in the amount of high school students ranging from one point four to four point seven percent one thousand to seventy additional students each year through twenty eight twenty four and from point one percent to four point nine percent one to seventy one educational students each year in middle school the current number of students at b h s is twelve hundred eighty seven and failon said it would grow to fifteen hundred forty five by the twenty twenty four twenty twenty five academic year the current average student teacher ratio for case through four in the belmont public schools is twenty five point three two one the current second grade class has three hundred ninety one students and is expected to grow to four hundred five students by fifth grade according  failon the space task force has been discussing additional modulars for one or more of the elementary schools no decision on where how many or what they will cost only decision as an aim is to aim for having them in place for september of twenty eighteen said anne marie mahoney a member of the space task force and chairman of the capital budget camp committee on february fifteenth the public is invited to witness the interviews conducted by members of the belmont high school building committee of the project manager finalists selected the committee expects to vote on the project manager contract april sixth projected cost for new high school b h s building committee chairman bill love alo said the feasibility study phase of the m s p a process will take approximately two years to complete and will cost approximately one point seven five million the m s b a will reimburse the town for the lesser thirty six point eight nine percent of the eligible approved cost of the feasibility study as determined by the m s p a or six hundred forty five thousand five hundred seventy five dollars funds for the feasibility study were appropriated at the twenty sixteen springtown meeting according to an an analysis performed by the b h s building committee the total  could be as high as two hundred ten million and as low as one hundred forty million the analysis was based on historical data on school construction collected by the m s p a and  projections and space capacity needs identified as a result of a collaborative analysis by the m s p a and belmont town officials patty walk for your heart by melissa erickson research suggests walking can improve heart health in matter of weeks heart disease the leading cause of death in america can be combat it by implementing a simple walking the gene according to research is that being hampton university state university of new york walking is the most portable easiest way to accomplish getting fit said pamela stewart fuss so she dean and professor and dr g clifford and florence b decker chair in rural nursing at the being hampton university decker school of nursing it's a great way to feel better to get more energy and help you focus it's a great stress reliever too while it may seem less rigorous than running a walk or other forms of exercise walking is an ideal way to get fit you can do it almost anywhere and you don't need any fancy gear just a good pair of shoes stuart fast said walking is an excellent form of exercise but research has been mixed on how successful a rock walking program can be and changing biological markers such as cholesterol weight blood pressure stood fast said during the study titled walking for heart health volunteers participated in a community walking program and were given program pedometers to wear over a ten week period they were asked to walk briskly briskly for one hundred fifty minutes per week after five weeks participants were invited to attend a talk about heart health and to have downloaded participants would then challenge to increase aerobics activity as well as to improve retention to study completion this challenge included increase their daily their total daily average of aerobics steps by at least ten percent for the remainder of the study onc policing of the program participants weight body mass index blood pressure and cholesterol were measured they were also asked to complete a survey about their physical activity food choices personal characteristics and behaviors from the ten week period the results of their post test confirm that team's initial hypothesis that walking would improve cardiovascular risks factors in the short term not only were they able to walk farther but they were also they could also walk faster after the study was completed st i believe issuing the challenge at the halfway point had a strong fact on the outcome and motivated the participants to be successful jonathan belmont fire department prepares for there's a lot of action this week in cushing square in the future site of cushing village a group of three new luxury apartment buildings with one hundred fifteen one to three bedroom units and underground garage including fifty municipal parking spaces and thirty seven thousand five hundred square feet of retail including starbucks the old c v s building is the first to be demolished next will be the former laundromat fall followed by the building which once ho specialty grocer set s s spears and the store's delicacies lie pity for according to the belmont historical societies then and no passers by may notice belmont firefighters on the site going in and out of the abandoned buildings wearing their fifty pound gear they the fire departments for newest recruits led by training officer lieutenant bob wallner who got permission to use the abandoned buildings from construction the contractor hired by brother by toll brothers apartment living for the project tom hewitt superintendent for nossiter said they're happy to help the fire department by allowing them to use the buildings for the training exercises according to belmont chief david frisell the trainees are learning evolution they will be expected to do as firefighters these would include forcible entry search and rescue and opening up walls to search for fire extension he said gravely or let of burlington brittany taylor from somerville john kerr bello of salem and michael mcnamara cambridge officially started with the american fire with the belmont fire department on january twenty third they're all licensed paramedics in the commonwealth of massachusetts and are now undergoing training to give them the credentials to work as firefighters including advanced life support and paramedic training the basic training such as how to properly wear the personal protective equipment and how to properly done their sell their self contained  in march the trainees will enter the massachusetts firefighting economy ten week training program upon graduation they will be certified to a national standard as a firefighter one and two said f in june they will be fully trained fighters and report to their assigned shifts the end of june i guess if there is a benefit per tear downs it is the training fire department received for his ill marion robotics team to compete in twenty seventeen challenge january fourteen members of team six seven three one belmont robotics spent a day at northeastern at team one to five the not irons to rookie build day the team was one of many teams attending but the only rookie team that came away with a working robot drive base team six seven three one belmont is more than twenty five belmont high school students almost a dozen local adult mentors and a pile of disparate parts wires and electronics coming together to compete in the first robotics twenty seventeen game challenge steam works and january seventh first robotics in new hampshire announced this year's game steam works teams worldwide have until february twenty one to finish their robot of its robots from a standard kit of parts within a budget and a specific time frame team six seven three one will compete in reading high school on march seventeen eighteen and nineteen at the greater boston district event and also march twenty four twenty five and twenty six at bryant university for the rhode island district event all are invited almost all of the three thousand three hundred thirty six first robotics teams are connected to their local high school or school district belmont robotics is still working on its relationship with the belmont school district team six seven three one belmont is also looking to find some lead sponsors to help reach its fundraising goals pa club stocked shelves for homeless you on january twenty eighth belmont high schools working to help the homeless club held a stock the shelves drive to benefit harvard square this shelter is run by harvard students for youth between the ages of eighteen and twenty four the shelter opened approximately fourteen months ago with twenty two beds only the second shelter for youth in the greater boston area where an estimated six hundred youth are after completing their own shopping the group then loaded and completely filled an s u v and even needed a second car to hold the overflow both feet close went on to do a livery on a delivery mission to why to why that afternoon and addition to the huge amount of food and toiletries purchased at star by customers the club collected three hundred seventy dollars in gift cards to fund purchase of purchases of perishable items in other words meat and another six hundred thirty seven dollars in monetary donations dan would a harvard sophomore who volunteers at y to y was astonished at the amount of items bought and it text message sent three hours after the delivery he said thank you so much for everything you did today there was so much food that i just finished unpacking we will be stocked for the season thanks to belmont high school it is incredible john show someone how much you love them in february if you're looking for ways to show love this february why not take time with a child spouse elder or friend to become part of the belmont story project modeled after story corps the belmont story project records interviews among belmont residents we take care of the technology side of things and provide great sample questions so you can focus on enjoying the conversation what better way to show a loved one you really care and to make time to find out more about them we honestly can't think of one available time slops slots at belmont public libraries cla february wednesday feb twenty second at ten fifteen if you're interested please contact nancy mccomb at m and m c c o l m at m live dot net or six one seven nine nine three two eight seven zero and alternative time slot can be scheduled if needed if you would prefer to make your own recording at home the library now has a digital audio calling six one seven four eight four two four four three marian doc tuck the questions physicians wish their patients would ask for the p for the best health it's imperative that people take an active role in their own medical care both patients and doctors are busy miscommunication can occur people often forget what their doctors tell them or don't share vital information in an effort to understand what would be helpful to doctors we asked several physicians what questions or comments they wish their patients would ask here are their answers goalie can i tell you what i'm concerned about as health care providers we try to get the complete picture of what is going on with you and when we see you the vast majority of the time by talking to an aunt examining you we can determine the diagnosis and plan sometimes however what we are seeing are planning does not relieve a concern you have perhaps you read something about your symptoms or your best friend told you about someone with a similar problem that then worries you why am i taking this medication there are alternatives this is a very important question for any patient to ask hopefully any time you receive any medication the the reason you are taking it its benefits and possible side effects are explained to you but if you do not understand or have questions about what the medication is for or why you need to take it speak up and ask another good question to ask in some circumstances it's if there are alternatives for example with cholesterol medications a patient may ask if they can try to change their exercise or diet before starting a medication do you think my weight is an issue what's the best way to lose weight losing weight when necessary and keeping it normal is a very important way to maintain our health it decreases our risk of high blood pressure and diabetes makes it easier for us to exercise and avoid arthritis decreases our risk of heart disease to name a few benefits can i see a nurse practitioner instead if you know what your practice has if you know that your practice has a nurse practitioner n p or a physician's assistant p a this is another great question to ask you will find that your access to appointments in the office will be greater and often this can make a visit more convenient for you if you will find the n p or p a in the practice to be you will find the n p r p a in the practice to be just as caring and competent as your p c p and you will also see them collaborate closely to provide you with the best care possible what should i work on before my next visit this is a very important question and as you wrap up your visit it is always good to know not only how you are doing currently but what your next steps in staying healthy should be maybe you need to work a little harder on your diet or exercise before the next visit perhaps you are due for a colon us to be your mammogram and you should get that completed before your next visit regardless of the answer if you do not feel you have received these types of instructions ask patty belmont studio cinema to host a global cinema film festival of boston the global cinema film festival of boston is set for march ninth to the twelfth at studio cinema three seven six to they will showcase over twenty eight films from around the globe the opening night film in exile in exile from manama r is set for eight fifteen pm march ninth a red carpet opening event will be at six pm march ninth official selections have been featured in major award competitions including tri backup film festival bafta toronto international film festival and rhode island international film festival for information about tickets festival pass program schedule and check out the full list of official selections visit world wide cinema frames dot com backslash global dash cinema dash film dash festival marion thank you for joining us for this episode of talking news please join us