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Elmwood School Roof Designer Chosen

Four candidates make the final Hopkinton School Superintendent cut

by Muriel Kramer

January 4, 2013 — At last night’s School Committee (SC) Meeting it was announced that the Elmwood School roof designer has been finalized; Gale Associates was the unanimous choice of the selection committee.  The proposed price for the design is still being negotiated but according to School Business Manager Ralph Dumas, the price is within the projections voted on at Special Town Meeting in November.

Dr. Hiersche reported that the Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) received a great many applicants; the BOS is targeting January 22^nd to finalize the membership of the ESBC.  Dr. Hiersche commented, “I am very impressed with the pool of applicants and that there are so many applicants that were willing to commit to two to four meetings per month.”

SC Chairman Nancy Alvarez Burdick gave a detailed update on the School Superintendent search; there are 4 finalists identified—Cathy MacLeod, Steven Hiersche, Andrew Keough, and Joseph Baeta.  The public is invited to participate in the process over the next two weeks.  Each candidate will have a day in the district touring all the schools and meeting with teachers and administrators.  In the evening of their day in the district, each candidate will be interviewed by the School Committee; the public is invited to attend the interview and also participate in a public forum immediately following the interview.  The interviews will be held at the High School beginning on 7PM in room A219.  There are snow dates scheduled that will be announced only if necessary.  Following the interviews and public forums, the SC will do site visits at each of the candidate’s current work locations; the SC hopes to select a final candidate and make an offer in mid to late February.

January 7^th at 7PM in room A219 at the HS:  the SC will interview Ms. Cathy MacLeod, a Doctoral  

candidate at Boston University and currently the Assistant Superintendent for Easton Public

Schools.

January 8^th at 7PM in room A219 at the HS:  the SC will interview Dr. Steven Hiersche, currently  

the Interim Superintendent for Hopkinton Public Schools.

January 14^th at 7PM in room A219 at the HS:  the SC will interview Dr. Andrew Keough, currently

the Principal of Wellesley High School.

January 15^th at 7PM in room A219 at the HS:  the SC will interview Mr. Joseph Baeta, currently

pursuing a Doctorate at Northcentral University and the Superintendent of Schools for Holbrook

Public Schools.

Dr. Hiersche also updated the committee on the search for Center School Interim Principal which is on schedule; the selection should be finalized and announced later today. 

The School Committee began budget discussions in earnest with administrators and department heads after last night’s regular meeting with the principals at the Middle School, High School and Athletic Director.  Discussions on requested budgets largely fixated on the new state mandated Supervision and Evaluation program that hits the district next September. The Committee will defer those discussions on that mandate and budget implications in detail for another time, as the mandate hits the district in total.   Each school administrator is however working to build the new mandate into their budgets which is at this point targeting additional administrative support.  In Dr. Hiersche preliminary budget that new state mandate is projected to increase costs in total $271,000.

The Superintendent’s proposed budget also targets no increase in fees versus any reduction at this point.  In FY ‘13 fees collected and spent according to Dumas total $1,787,000; for FY ’14 fees are projected to be $1,771,000, the reduction coming from the Full Day Kindergarten program as there won’t be enough space next year for as many students as this year.  The fees  for this year break down as follows— daycare transportation $25,000, parking $50,000, preschool tuition $125,000, Full Day Kindergarten $346,000, Athletics $215,000, Athletic gate receipts $35,000, circuit breaker $657,000 and Student Activities $19,000.  Dr. Hiersche position is at this time we “hold the fees steady.”  He makes the point that any reduction in fees will have to be directly added into the budget.

HopNews offered a $25.00 prize for the best snow photo submission. However, there were so many good photos sent it that it was difficult to chose.

So, as a result, we have decided to offer the top two photos EACH $25.00; the sequential photo collage by Branden Carl and the deer and snowman by Michelle Carbonneau. Click on thumbnails, or scroll down, to see them enlarged. Congratulations to them both.

by Robert Falcione

January 1, 2013  — 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.

State Crime

Excessive Tinting a Giveaway

Trooper finds 5 pounds of marijuana at traffic stop in Saugus

December 31, 2012 — Last night at 11:45 p.m., Trooper Zachary Bolcome stopped a 2007 Mercedes E63 on Route 1 in Saugus. The Mercedes had excessive tinting and was missing its front plate. The operator DARNE RICCI, 22, of Malden made statements relative to the car belonging to her boyfriend’s mother. Trooper Bolocome could smell a heavy odor of fresh marijuana and asked RICCI to hand over any marijuana that she might have in the car.

RICCI initially handed over a few small bags that led to the eventual discovery of 5, individually-wrapped pounds of marijuana. RICCI was taken into custody for possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance. RICCI was booked at the State Police Barracks in Danvers and was bailed out several hours later.

RICCI will appear in Lynn District Court this morning.  Content and photo courtesy Massachusetts State Police

First Home Wrestling Match in Memory of Linda Karner

On Thursday January 3^rd, Hopkinton Wrestling will dedicate its first home match to the memory of Linda Karner, an enthusiastic Hopkinton fan and wrestling mom who lost her battle with breast cancer this past year. Linda’s son Tom was a standout wrestler and Captain while competing for Hopkinton High School and his sister Jessie continues to manage the team with Coaches Tim Nelson and Corey Mills as she has for the past 7 years.

The team invites former Hopkinton wrestlers and fans from this season and past seasons to come to Thursday’s match at 7PM in the Middle School Doyle gym; please wear some pink if possible in Linda’s memory.   We hope to see you there.