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 State Crime  

Colonel Marian J. McGovern, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police (HopNews file photo), releases the following statement regarding this weekend’s arrest of  Trooper John Analetto.

“Beginning last week, the Massachusetts State Police joined the FBI in an investigation into bookmaking and extortion crimes committed by John Analetto, a state trooper. We provided assistance to our federal law enforcement partners and together determined that circumstances required us to move quickly to apprehend Analetto. He was taken into custody Saturday afternoon by FBI agents and state troopers.  

“Immediately after his arrest, superior officers relieved Analetto of duty. We took from him his department-issued firearm, a department-issued shotgun, his cruiser, his badge and other State Police gear. We also confiscated a personal firearm that was at his residence. Today we suspended him without pay indefinitely.  

“Analetto’s actions as alleged in the federal complaint are beneath contempt. They are, as alleged, the actions of a criminal and street thug. As suggested by the evidence, Analetto’s behavior exemplifies street-level organized crime, not the values, ideals, and character of a Massachusetts State Trooper. I am disgusted by those actions, but more importantly, the 2,000 or so state troopers who serve with integrity and honesty are disgusted by them.  

“We have no tolerance for lawbreakers within our ranks, and will act tirelessly to root them out and see them prosecuted, as we did in this case.”  

-Colonel Marian J. McGovern
Superintendent
Massachusetts State Police

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 Regional Crime

Masked Armed Robbery 

(Milford, MA.) On January 3, 2012 Tuesday morning at 6:12 am the Milford Police received a report of an armed robbery had just occurred at the Village Laundromat located at 70 Main Street. Milford Police responded and learned that a masked male subject approximately 5’08” had smashed the side glass door with a hammer and entered the business shortly after an employee entered. The suspect was armed with a hammer and threatened the employee to give him the money or he would hit her. The suspect did rob the employee of an amount of cash from the business’s safe and fled out the side door onto Court Street and in the direction towards Spring Street. 

Milford Police Detectives are continuing the investigation along with patrol officers and are reviewing video evidence. Video evidence captures a subject dressed in a winter coat possibly green or gray colored with stripes on the sleeves and a hood. The suspect also had a full face mask on and was carrying a hammer in his right hand. The suspect then smashed the side glass door and entered the business approaching the employee shortly after she arrived demanding money from the safe. The suspect is observed wearing a dark colored back pack with a yellow hard hat attached to it. 

The case remains under investigation.

Elementary School Survey Results to be Reviewed Wednesday
Joint Selectmen/School Committee Meeting
January 4, 2012
6:30 pm
High School Auditorium 

At 6:30, Paul Flaxman, Vice President of Boston Research Group, will present the survey methodology, data, and results, followed by questions and answers from both boards. At the conclusion of the discussion, the meeting will be opened up to community members who would like to ask questions regarding the survey.  

The survey presentation and public discussion will end promptly at 8:30, at which time the Board of Selectmen and School Committee will consider and vote on potential Statements of Interest for the Center School and the Elmwood School, in order to meet the January 11 deadline for submission to the MSBA. A vote of both boards is required. The boards will also discuss the Hopkinton Elementary School Building Committee (HESBC).  

See the blank Elementary School Survey document here.

Scanlon Couple Puts the "Irish" in Cornell's Pub
Purchase and Sale for Cornell's Pub signed

January 2, 2012 — Cornell's Irish Pub will be the new name of Cornell's as soon as Irish transplants Ellen and Colm Scanlon get the key to the front door. The couple signed a purchase and sale agreement with the current owner, Rob Cornell, two days before Christmas. They watched it on the market for six months, they said today in a fireside interview at their home, one minute down Hayden Rowe Street from their new investment. When the time was right, they made an offer that took only a week to conclude.
      "We wanted to make an investment; and for the potential. But it's more than just an investment.
      "We are settled in this town," said Colm, who with wife Ellen, purchased their modest Hayden Rowe Street home in 2009.
      "Our kids have another 7 or 8 years in the school system. And they like school," he said.
      The Scanlons said they have plans to give back to the schools through fundraisers at their new establishment. They believe the current clientele will be receptive.
      "The staff and customers are very nice," said Mr. Scanlon. "A happy bunch.
      "We've been going in there for three years and never seen trouble there, never so much as an argument. There's a lot of camaraderie." The Scanlons like the menu, too.
      "They've got the best pizza, and the best burger in town," said Mrs. Scanlon. "And I'm not saying that because I'm buying the place," she said with a smile, adding that they will be offering children's fare on the new menu. The pizza is a New York pizza system, and the burgers are fresh, not frozen, black angus beef.
      "We'll be adding some sandwiches that customers have asked for," said Colm. "Like any business, you have to listen to input from the customers."
      They have their own ideas for what Cornell's will look like after they are done; a new counter for the bar made of rustic wood, and new hardwood, wide-planks for flooring to start — building a country look on the interior. New barstools with backs as well as new tables and chairs will welcome new and current customers.
      Walking in the front door of Cornell's, first time visitors can't help but notice the low ceiling in the main room. Well, the Scanlons have a fix in mind for that.
     "Eventually, we'd like to remove the ceiling and install post and beam construction, as well as skylights. We'd like to lower the windows, too, and get more daylight in," said Colm.
      But what about the exterior?
     No one will have to worry about pebbles bouncing up from the driveway chipping at the paint of their Mercedes, Beemer or Jag after the Scanlons install hot top. Not only will the driveway get a makeover, but the exterior will be redesigned to fit in with the neighborhood of residential construction.
      The Scanlons are using a model from Ireland — Scanlon's Pub — for the inspiration for Cornell's. The successful bar they ran for years in Ireland, and then sold, is pictured here, and will become the standard for the new look — eventually. In the photo, right, taken in winter, the window boxes and hanging plants of summer have been removed for the season.
        The windows will be painted and designed like the countryside they grew up in, and the exterior will be painted white.
         All of these endeavors will take time, but there is at least one thing they will not have to worry about.
        "Rob Cornell has been very helpful. He has built a successful business and maintained it for years.
        "He said he'd be happy to help us during the transition," Ellen said.
        The Scanlons will close on the deal after receiving license transfers and approvals from various Town Hall departments, as well as the ABCC.

Wellness Teacher, and Athletic Trainer & Coach Says "Yes" to Yoga

by Diane Welch
It seems that the years of the three-sport athlete have gone to the way side to make room for the student-athlete who now trains year round and specializes in hopes of gaining a college scholarship. But at what cost? As an athletic trainer, coach and a Wellness teacher, it amazes me how many more injuries we are seeing with the teenage student-athlete. Different sports allow for different muscles to work and rest. However, now that soccer, basketball (and many others) have become a year round sport, we start to wonder...when is the body given a chance to recoup?

Let's face it, today's student is under more stress and pressure than we ever were in high school. There are more AP classes offered, SAT scoring has changed and it's possible to earn a GPA higher than a 4.0. So what can we offer to today's student-athlete to help them handle the stresses put on their body both in the classroom and on the field? The answer my friends is Yoga. Power Yoga, such as the kind offered at bCalm Power Yoga in Hopkinton, helps to increase my athletes' strength and flexibility, as well as provide them with a sense of inner peace to help calm their anxieties. When I saw the benefits yoga was bringing to my student athletes' lives, I finally decided to give it a go myself.

I know what you are thinking....here we go again...another earth crunchy, freedom loving yoga enthusiast is trying to get you into their cult. Only, I don't fall into that category...at all.  I'm a has-been. During my college track years I spent numerous hours in the throwing circle, the weight room, refueling in the cafeteria, and watching films. What I should have also been doing was yoga.  Here I am in my thirties, and I am no longer training for track but fighting to find the time to get in any type of workout. When I was first approached about trying yoga at bCalm Power Yoga, I was concerned that the few days that I had at the gym now doing cardio and weights would be lost to days on a mat... and doing what exactly? Well, surprise surprise...yoga is more of a workout than I expected!

The days that I do cardio now feel like more of a breeze than ever before! I expected to be winded and tired but I actually felt great. In terms of strength, who needs dumb bells when I have my body weight to use? My deltoids and chest scream at me after just a few “yogi push ups”, my abs cry when we have to hold “boat pose” and my calves are fired up when doing “half moon”.  Yoga has shown me just how much of a workout it can be and that you don't need weights to develop a strong and healthy body. I am now stronger than ever before thanks to bCalm's powerful yoga classes! I can only imagine the benefits that I would have gained in flexibility, core strength, balance and avoidance of injury had I incorporated yoga into my athletic training as a high school and college student.

Now, when I suggest yoga to my student-athletes, I am able to back what I say because I have had the chance to personally experience the ways that power yoga has changed my well-being. As a Wellness teacher, I try to get my students to focus on their own personal wellness hexagon (physical, intellectual, spiritual, social/emotional, occupational/leisure, and environmental). Yoga is a great opportunity for our student-athletes to work on several aspects of their hexagon at the same time, while helping them grow into more well-rounded individuals, both mentally, physically and spiritually. 

About the author: Diane Welch is in her 9th year as a Wellness teacher at Hopkinton High School. She also works as a per diem athletic trainer for local high schools and colleges and has coached at Hopkinton, Hudson Catholic and Assabet Valley Technical High School.

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January 2, 2012 

12:45 pm An off-duty employee of the police department found some suspicious hand tools... 

11:44 pm A caller reported an unauthorized, underage party in the model unit... 

11:47 am A Main Street business reported an earlier shoplifting incident... 

10:00 pm A deer fled the scene of a collision...

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Smooth as Glass

January 1, 2012 — A still Blood's Pond today, a day of Indian Summer, reflects the beautiful partly cloudy blue sky above, framed by its dam and opposite shore.

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Standing Tall

January 1, 2012 — The cemetery on Wilson Street has not received new residents for years, but is maintained by St. John the Evangelist Church. Direct sunlight, beaming thought the trees, lights up the tallest flag, but doesnt hit much else directly. The readers' eyes are drawn to it, as it is the minority tone, being white. The inverse, a black flag with a white background,  would be true to the rule, too.

Better Late...

January 1, 2012 — These arborvitae on the border of a property on Ash Street eluded the HopNews camera until now; but even though the season is officially over, we see a need to share the cleverness of their owner.

Hopkinton Girls on Worcester Academy’s
2011 New England Championship Soccer Team 

The Worcester Academy Varsity Girls Soccer Team beat Loomis Chaffee 2 – 1 to win the 2011 New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A Championship Nov. 20. It was the Worcester Academy team’s third NEPSAC Championship in four years, but its first ever Class A Championship. 

Two Hopkinton seniors played an integral part on the winning team: Emily Doherty, left, and Bridget McCarthy.  

Emily and Bridget were recently named to the Boston Globe’s All-NEPSAC (New England Prep School Athletic Council) team for Girls Varsity Soccer. Additionally, Bridget was named 2011’s NEPSAC Most Valuable Player, as well as having been named to the 2011 Massachusetts All-State Soccer Team. 

On Dec. 14, ESPN named the Worcester Academy Girls Varsity Soccer Team the #1 girls prep soccer program in the nation. 

Girls Soccer Coach Adam Strogoff had high praise for Emily Doherty and Bridget McCarthy. 

“I could not be more proud of the way Emily and Bridget competed this season en route to the championship. They should be very proud of their accomplishment,” Mr. Strogoff said. “As scholars and athletes, they exemplify the academy motto, ‘Achieve the Honorable.’ ”

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by Robert Falcione

January 1, 2012  — For those who want to quit smoking and have tried every method unsuccessfully, this writer recommends a try with "the Russian." Some call Yefim Shubentsov the "Mad Russian," although I do not know why. I had wanted to quit smoking with all of my might for years, but failed at every attempt until I visited him.  

Mr. Shubentsov claims to be a psychic healer and refutes those who say he must be a hypnotist. What I know for sure is that it worked for me, and it has worked for countless others with a success rate that is unmatched. And he has never advertised. This is an unpaid testimonial. 

First, he invites the waiting group of fifteen or more people into a two-hour treatment seminar and talks about smoking. He surprises people with his ability to read body language. Nothing embarrassing, just really good reads about a person's health.  

"Sir, would you switch seats with that woman. She has a hearing problem," he said to someone during the first minutes of my treatment. 

He also offers little healings — no touching involved — to receptive people in the group, with his hands that apparently pulse energy into the area his palms are pointing toward. 

The next step is a one-on-one visit in his office. The visit lasts about a minute, and during that time, he removes the urge to smoke from the person's brain by means of psychic healing. No one is required to believe that, but it is how he explains his ability. Imagine not having the urge to smoke? 

My first cigarette was in 1957 after seeing a television commercial — yes, you youngsters, they used to advertise on television — for Parliament cigarettes. The ad promised that the bad stuff would not reach my lips, because it had a recessed filter tip scientifically designed for that purpose. It was the best recess, Parliament would assure me, showing me in a print ad with one cigarette out of the open pack. Ah yes, one cigarette, one recess. I knew that recess was what we did at school, and I knew that it lasted about the amount of time it took to smoke a cigarette. But I probably knew it on a subconscious level. 

Oh, the reader wonders, how could you be smoking at ten years-old at recess? True, we bought our cigarettes at Scotties Market — yes, you youngsters, they sold cigarettes to 10 year-olds back then — and smoked them anywhere we could hide from our parents. It wasn't until we were 16 years-old that we could smoke during recess in the smoking area at school. You read correctly, the smoking area at school. 

It seemed everyone smoked back then. It was a rite of passage, like a first date. People smoked on television, in their homes, in their vehicles, in stores, and yes, at school. More people got carsick back then because mom and dad did not know that their non-stop butts on the way to Grandma's ("No, I will not roll the window down. It will ruin my hair.") were making the kids dizzy. 

Of course, most people like myself — those of us who get a 10% senior discount at participating Dunkin' Donuts (Eat your heart out!) — have already quit by this age. This message is largely for younger people who want to quit. And that is the key. You have to want to quit. If a person smokes, so will their kids, although the inverse is not necessarily true. 

For those who want to quit, give Mr. Shubentsov's office a call and set up an appointment. It comes with a lifetime guarantee. If the desire to smoke returns, you can visit again, or you can give him a call and he will remove the urge to smoke over the phone. I had to have a second visit one time. It took half a minute with him and I haven't smoked since. That was around 1994. Last I heard, the rate was $65 for the guaranteed session. 

One more thing. Go it alone. The only failures I have heard of is when people (usually women) try to quit together. "Let's quit smoking" is not a good suggestion. Go it alone. It is a solitary endeavor. 

Want to quit? Give him a call. Go to Brookline. Pay the short money. Never smoke again.

Ringing in the New Year

January 1, 2012 — What was described by a neighbor as an underage party in an unoccupied model home on Nazneen Circle brought police from Hopkinton, as well as neighboring Upton and Ashland, to help coral the young suspects and process them.

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December 31, 2011 —  Please enjoy Part II of a look back at the Year in Pictures, 2011 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. These photos from HopNews.com are largely a labor of love by principal photographer Robert Falcione as well as contributors from Hopkinton. There are photos of people, places, animals, sports as well as photos that remind the reader of a remarkable event, like a hurricane or a contentious Town Meeting. Please enjoy Part II below, and scroll down for Part I if you, missed it. And remember, the pause button is there for a reason.

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Two's Company

December 31, 2011 — A great blue heron passes its bearded mate perched on a clamshell-covered rock in Lake Maspenock, which is usually well-submerged, even this time of year. However, the lake is undergoing an off-year draw down conducted by the lake Maspenock Preservation Association to hopefully kill off the invasive weeds by way of an expected, albeit seasonally late, freezing of the bottom. Shorefront homes of Downey Street are reflected in background.

      Below is Pout Rock, as it is called by some, showing the lake level several feet below its normal high-water mark.

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1¼ lb. Boiled Lobster with Choice of any two sides

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Chinese Food on New Year's Eve?

Call the Dynasty early - 508 435-8088 

New Year's Eve is to the Dynasty Restaurant what Easter is to church. Everyone who has visited once in the previous year shows up on that day. 

So, to help with getting the orders out for everyone, Rose asks that people call ahead with their order. She says that 2:00 pm today, New Year's Eve, is not too early to place your order, and it will be ready at the time you specify. Happy New Year.

Three-car Pileup on 495 Sends Three People to Hospitals
"There are cars everywhere" - First police officer on the scene asking for more police

December 30, 2011 — Three out of four occupants of a three-vehicle pileup on Route 495 Northbound in Hopkinton were taken to hospitals this evening. A fourth occupant refused treatment and was given transport to safety were she met with a ride. Two patients were transported with Advanced Life Support ambulance to a local hospital, the other was by ambulance with Basic Life Support.
        The first patient was transported by American Medial Response, as seen in the video below. It is unclear what roles each town played, but Southborough and Westborough sent ambulances, as did Hopkinton, which also responded with apparatus.
        The accident occurred almost directly across from one on Monday evening, where an individual was seriously injured after leaving the roadway for several hundred feet.
        The roadway and median were covered with debris, shattered glass, car parts and personal possessions. An Art's Towing driver can be seen in the top photo carrying a guitar case.
        The pickup truck above is in the right travel lane, and the other two vehicles are on the median, forcing 495 traffic to use the breakdown lane, and safety vehicles to use the rest of the highway. The scene is about a quarter mile from the entrance to 495 North at West Main  Street.
        Mass DOT was called to take care of a petroleum spill on  the road, and Art's took care of the cleanup.

 
Below are two of the vehicles from the crash, one of which appears to be smoldering.

December 30, 2011  — For HopNews readers, this slideshow review can be a fond look back at the first six months of the year 2011 (Part II will be forthcoming). For those who may want to learn about Hopkinton, Massachusetts, it is a good way to see it largely through the eyes of photographer Robert Falcione, as well as other talented contributors. So feel free to share the link with friends and family from out of town, as well as those who may consider moving here.
      Although the viewer may see the repeat of a photo during the video, don't look away. Keep in mind, there will be many more fresh photos to come after the repeated ones.
      Please enjoy, and check back for the last six months of the year, Part II, between now and New Year's Day.

The computer generated transitions are very quick in the beginning, so be ready with the pause button if there is one that needs to be savored.

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