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Last Hurrah

May 10, 2011 — It appears the cultivated blueberry bushes await their turn among the dandelions at the last vestige of the Amato Farm that straddled Hopkinton and Upton town line for decades.

   

A Little to the Left

May 10, 2011 — The roving HopNews camera caught this mishap — it appears no one was injured — on West Union Street in Ashland. The vehicle jumped the island and knocked a red maple tree over and into the travel lane.

  

First Project Approved at Legacy Farms

Groundbreaking for 240 apartments expected in October

"That's when we'll break out the champagne!" President Roy MacDowell

Above, Planning Board member Carol DeVeuve signing official road plans that will be submitted to the Registry of Deeds.

 

by Robert Falcione

May 5, 2011 — The story became public on February 10, 2005: Weston Nurseries land, over 600 acres of it, was for sale, and the Town of Hopkinton would have the first shot at purchasing the farmland under Chapter 61A, a program that grants reduced taxes for farmland in exchange for the right of first refusal when a property is put up for sale.

       After entertaining various entities for a partnership in developing the property if the town purchased it, the Weston Nurseries land went before Town Meeting to purchase it outright. On June 11, 2007, Town Meeting failed to vote the two-thirds necessary to purchase the land. It failed by 3 votes, facilitating the Purchase and Sale agreement between Boulder Capital (Now known as Baystone Development) and Weston Nurseries.

<-------- (First story on Weston Nurseries land Sale, Feb 10, 2005)

     On April 22, 2008, the Board of Selectmen signed a Host Community Agreement with Legacy Farms, the name of the overall development that is configured to consist of 940 units on over 720 acres, much of which will be restricted land. The HCA specifies conditions of agreement between the town and the developer, such as a three-phase Grove Street/Main Street traffic improvement plan. Part of that plan has already been implemented with the new signaling that was installed at that intersection last year. Another condition requires a payment to the school department if the student population in the project passes agreed limits.

     All of the hard work and capital investment paid off this evening when the Planning Board voted to approve Southwest Village, 240 units of apartments to be designed and built by Wood Partners in the southern end of the property. In addition, the Planning Board approved the plan by Legacy Farms for the roadway to serve that complex.

    After the meeting, Wood Partners VP of Development Adelaide Grady said that she expected groundbreaking for the construction to take place in October.

     The Planning Board gave them five years to complete the project following groundbreaking.

Massachusetts to Benefit from $845 Million in Rejected Florida Rail Funding

 

BOSTON – May 9, 2011 - Senator John Kerry, along with Representatives Edward Markey, Richard Neal (File photo), John Olver, John F. Tierney, Jim McGovern, Michael Capuano, Niki Tsongas, and William Keating, today announced that Massachusetts will benefit from more than $845 million in rejected high speed rail funding originally offered to Florida.

 

The United States Department of Transportation today awarded $795 million to the Northeast Corridor. Among other improvements, these funds will be used to increase speeds from 135 to 160 miles per hour on critical track segments, improve on-time performance, and add additional seats for passengers. 

 

Additionally, Massachusetts will benefit from $50.8 million in other grants. Specifically, $20,822,341 was awarded for improvements on the Downeaster track – a large portion of which will be used for the construction of a second track on a 10.4 mile section of single track between Wilmington and Andover. Another $30,000,000 grant was awarded for improvements along the New Haven-Springfield track, including construction of additional double tracking on the Hartford, Connecticut to Springfield section of the New Haven - Springfield Corridor.

 

When Florida Governor Rick Scott rejected $2.4 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for high speed rail projects in the state, Kerry along with the Massachusetts House delegation supported several bids to redistribute the dollars to Massachusetts.

 

“We didn’t waste a split second, we worked the phones, wrote the letters, and pursued this money because we know what it will do across New England,” said Sen. Kerry.  “Florida’s loss is our gain and Massachusetts stands ready to put this money to good use starting today. I couldn’t be prouder of our delegation’s creativity and initiative.”

 

Thumbnail“As a longtime supporter of high speed rail in New England and throughout the Northeast corridor, today’s announcement brings us one step closer to achieving that important goal,” said Rep. Neal. “Making transportation quicker and more convenient will benefit our entire region, and it will also help grow the economy and much needed create jobs.”

 

NOTE: Please enjoy a reprise of the HopNews story, reported by Austin Falcione, of the revival of the Grafton Upton Railroad, in the link to the left.

   

Real Estate Transactions for Hopkinton, Massachusetts

 

Compiled  for HopNews.com by Robert Falcione © 2011 All Rights Reserved

New Transactions from April 24, 2011 to May 2, 2011

Address

Buyer

Price Date Seller
28 Nazneen Circle
GUNTIREDDYGARI SURESH K R
RONDLA RAJANI
$521,000 May 5, 2011

Ahmed Mirajuddin TR,

Peppercorn Village Realty Trust

215 hayden Rowe Street William Perkins, John Perkins $375,000 May 4, 2011 Deutsche Bank National Trust
Last Week        
63 Main Street 63 Main Street Real Estates LLC $310,000 May 2, 2011 Donald A Hitchings
2 Erika Drive Susan, Shawn, Pauline, Ray Collins $570,000 April 28, 2011 Julie R Dewaele
9 West Elm Street Evan E Gallagher $362,500 April 28, 2011 Susan Collins, Shawn Collins
302 West Main Street Carter Brennan Property Group LLC $125,000 April 28, 2011 Judith C Brogioli, Charles M Brogioli
91 Grove Street JMFE Properties LLC $350,000 April 25, 2011 JBCD Properties LLC
Week Before Last        
28 Apple Tree Hill Road E James L Golden III $147,500 April 22, 2011 Fannie Mae
Wilson Street Aho Daniel Trust, Fiske Hill Realty Trust $60,000 April 21, 2011 Jon Rosenfeld, Patricia Rosenfeld
4 Donna Pass Kenneth J LaGelnne, Patricia J LaGlenne $620,000 April 15, 2011 Neil H Shaffer, Nanci A Shaffer
21 Forest Lane UNIT 19 W/PS 21A & 21B Xiao Minglong, Kang Yanli $320,000 April 14, 2011 Atrthur A Massicott, Kacqueline K Massicott

 

Police News UP-TO-DATE <--- CLICK FOR FULL REPORT

 

May 9, 2011

 

8:23 pm Caller believes a dog running loose on Erika Drive is one they saw on posters...

 

11:21 am A motorist reported that while driving on West Main Street passing Lake Maspenock, a naked man in a boat...

 

7:09 pm A Falcon Ridge resident reported that someone left a dead animal in a bag on his doorstep. [But before that...]

 

12:22 pm Several people in the Falcon Ridge neighborhood called in a lightning strike...

            



By Dan Goggin † Directed by Kelly Grill
Hopkins School † 104 Hayden Rowe St, Hopkinton, MA
May 13 & 14, 7pm † May 14 & 15, 2pm

Tickets $17 general admission $13 students, seniors & stage door members
Featuring the Talents of Mary Scarlata Rowe, Beth Nolan, Noelle Laumeister, Lillian White & Ellie Frazier
For more information visit our website www.enterstagelefttheater.org
Produced through special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

     

Supports Nancy Burdick

Editor:

I would like to encourage the voters of Hopkinton to support Nancy Burdick for School Committee on May 16th.  

 

My experience with Nancy has shown that she is one of the few town leaders that have consistently reached out for feedback and ideas on the major issues concerning the town. This type of outreach needs to be supported and encouraged if we are to solve the looming challenges facing the town.

 

I am convinced that Nancy’s experiences in education, town leadership, as well as her commitment to engaging and listening to the community, uniquely qualifies her to lead in the challenge of ensuring a high level of educational excellence is balanced with the impact of the financial burdens on the citizens. 

 

Nancy’s commitment to effectively communicate and collaborate is needed now more than ever.

 

Join me in supporting Nancy Burdick for School Committee on May 16th

 

Mark Kelley

6 DiCarlo Rd

May 8, 2011

A Day in the Life of Hopkinton, May 7, 2011 

Sustainable Green, lightning, cloudburst, hail, adults playing kickball

   

Smackdown

May 7, 2011 — Today's intense storm hammered Hopkinton with wind, rain and in some parts of town, heavy rain and hail (Video to come). The photo shot from  the Lake Maspenock boat ramp above is a freeze-frame from an HD video shot today showing a lightning strike and a visible cloudburst. The Fire Department responded to Falcon Ridge Road on the Upton side of town for a brush fire between two properties caused by a lightning strike, and returned later when homeowners discovered some electrical problems from  a strike that hit their dog fence wires and followed them, entering their home with them unaware.

Cloudy With a Chance of INSANE Downpours

May 7, 2011 — The skies over parts of Hopkinton opened with a thunderous roar this afternoon, as evidenced above at Hopkinton State Park, where the line of the dam is barely visible through the thick fog. Rain and hail plummeted to earth as the clouds burst open, cutting short the afternoon activities of many people.

Who's on First?

May 7, 2011 — These parents stepped back in  time to their younger glory days and joined several other coed teams, including one made up of teachers, for a Kickball Tournament fundraiser at Cornell Field to benefit the HPTA, which will contribute their proceeds, which included entry fees and sale from raffle tickets, to school causes.

Greening Up

May 7, 2011 — The Sustainable Green Committee and volunteers posed for a "Kodak Moment" at the Veterans Memorial  Gazebo today before fanning out around town to tidy up the roads, lakes and neighborhoods. Below, Laura McKenzie of the Hopkinton Running Club, which offered several volunteers today, wades through poison ivy on West Main Street to pick up roadside litter while uttering the familiar last words, "I don't get poison ivy."

            

Only Going One Way

May 7, 2011 — This patron of Hopkinton's Lake Whitehall State Park passed the Gatehouse with it on his right, instead of it being on his left today after enjoying the park. Fortunately, no one was going in the proper direction on Highland Street while he forged own way.

     

Better to Bee Careful

May 7, 2011 — The Brennans of Woodville keep no bees but nonetheless find these facenets adequate to fend off mosquitoes and black flies while working in their yard today.

Break in the Action

May 7, 2011 — Hunter Goodrow, 11, practices his technique while his mom watches as they enjoy a break in the action behind Colella's today while selling scratch tickets to benefit lacrosse fields.

   

Greening Up

May 7, 2011 — These volunteers were part of a team that scoured the Downtown today, although a bit unconventionally themselves, for sidewalk and roadside litter.

 

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

May 7, 2011 — Jeff Rizzo explains the Stamp Out Hunger food drive to a Colella's patron in the front entrance of the store on her way in to shop. The event will occur Saturday May 14, 2011. local letter carriers will pick up bags of food that individuals leave by their mail pickup and will then bring them to Project Just Because. Or for those who feel that mail carriers should handle only mail, Project Just Because, 86 South Street, Hopkinton, will be open between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm.

 

Seven Swans Swimming

May 7, 2011 — The original photo by Christine Meyers showed another two swans further over on the left, but to include them here would have made the total of swans too distant to distinguish in the photo.

 

Keep Town Clerk Elected

Editor,

 

Hopkinton registered voters received a mailing from the Board of Selectmen informing us that at the Annual Town Election on Monday, May 16th, we will be asked whether to amend the Town Charter relative to the position of Town Clerk.

 

The proposed Charter amendments would change the position of Town Clerk from an elected office to an appointed position by the Town Manager. In addition, the Town Clerk would no longer make appointments to the Appropriations Committee and the Charter Review Committee.

 

Why the change now?


I would ask registered voters to VOTE NO on BALLOT QUESTION 1 because I believe that the position of Town Clerk should remain independent. Hopkinton’s Town Clerk should be elected, NOT appointed.

 

In the nearly thirty years that my husband Mike and I have lived in Hopkinton, many things have changed…many for the better, but the integrity of the office of the Town Clerk has remained a constant.

 

For all of those nearly thirty years that I have lived here, a member of the Nealon family has held the elected position of Town Clerk. That means the voters chose the Town Clerk, the person they felt would best carry out the duties of that office.

 

Ann Nealon Click is the present Town Clerk. She was elected to the position after her mother, Mary “Bunny” Nealon completed her tenure as Town Clerk. Mary Nealon became Town Clerk following the death of her husband, Robert Nealon, many years before I moved to town.

 

Please do not misunderstand me. I am NOT advocating for a dynasty. I am not asking that a member of the Nealon family always occupy the office of the Town Clerk. Rather, I am asking that voters of Hopkinton be given the opportunity to choose their Town Clerk. To my knowledge, the office of the Town Clerk runs well and on all cylinders…carrying out the many duties and challenges that may arise.

 

Why the change now?

 

One of the main duties of the office of the Town Clerk is to oversee elections. Without getting into all that goes into the election process, I think that it is essential that the person who is responsible for coordinating the entire election process AND for counting all of our ballots should be elected by the registered voters who cast those ballots.

 

What if all of a sudden we were asked to vote to change the position of the Massachusetts Secretary of State from an elected office to an appointed position? I don’t think that question would ever make it to the ballot box.


 

In closing let me add I have heard no concrete reason that convinces me why the office of the Hopkinton Town Clerk needs to be changed. I have heard no concrete reason why the Town Clerk should be appointed rather than elected by me and my fellow registered voters of our Town.
 

Why the change now?

 

Please join me and VOTE NO on BALLOT QUESTION 1 on Monday. May 16th.

 

Anne-Marie Sullivan

59 Teresa Road

May 7, 2011

 

Kenneth D. Chisholm, 75


Kenneth D. Chisholm, 75,
of Hopkinton, passed away Friday, May 6, 2011 at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Born in Boston, he was the son of the late Margaret (Delano) and John Elmer Chisholm. He was the husband of Carol A. Chisholm of Hopkinton.
A graduate of Boston College, Ken joined the Navy serving on the USS Kitty Hawk. Upon discharge, he began a career as a fundraiser for several organizations until his retirement from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in 2005. After retirement he pursued an ongoing interest in studying real estate.

Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Natasha V. Chisholm of Hopkinton, his son, Nikolai K. Chisholm and his wife Kimberly of Worcester; his siblings, Ann Maggio of Falmouth, Joyce Kirk and her husband William of Falmouth, Robert P. Chisholm and his wife Sheila of Falmouth and Edward T. Chisholm and his wife Cheryl of Medford. He also leaves behind several nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 from 9:30-10:30a.m. at the Chesmore Funeral Home of Hopkinton, 57 Hayden Rowe St.
www.ChesmoreFuneralHome.com A funeral mass will take place following visitation at 11:00a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church of Hopkinton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Research/Jimmy Fund, 44 Binney St. Boston, MA. 02215

   

 

 

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