Wellesley January 2012

Vol. 1 No. 9 Free to Every Home and Business Every Month January 1, 2012

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDThe Sun Chronicle

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BY DAVE HALPERIN

As actors Mark Gibson, LaTanyaJones, Michael Yebba, and LonnieFarmer expressed to an audience atBabson College's Sorenson Centerfor the Arts on December 8, serv-ing time in prison doesn't alwaysmean rehabilitation; as a panel dis-cussion after the show revealed,developing entrepreneurial skillsduring incarceration can be a key

to avoiding recidivism.

Those four actors, three of whomare themselves former prisoners,were performing a staged readingof "The Castle", the off-Broadwayplay that ran for more than a yearin 2008. The staged reading waspart of a fundraiser for Wellesley-based Venturing Out, Inc., whichprovides 12-week self-employ-ment and microenterprise courses

for incarcerated men and womenwho are nearing re-entry intomainstream society.

The reading of The Castle wasfollowed by a panel discussion,moderated by WBUR's DavidBoeri, between the actors and JohnLarivee, Community Resourcesfor Justice CEO; MiddlesexCounty Sheriff Peter Koutoujian;and Andre Porter, Executive Direc-tor of the state's Office of Small

Keeping Wellesley Illuminated Luminary Night Brightens Town, Aids ProgramsBY DAVE HALPERIN

The Fourth Annual Luminary Night meantthat over 15,000 lights were placed byhomeowners in yards and along drivewaysand walkways around town the evening ofSunday, December 4.

The purchase of those lights, in the formof 150 kits, from the Wellesley Hills JuniorWomen's Club meant a successful fundrais-ing event for the club, translating into col-lege scholarships for worthy current andfuture students from Wellesley and addi-

tional money towards grants for local non-profits and money for charities.

With so many lights on display and withan assist from Mother Nature, who provideda clear, warm evening, Wellesley residentswere out and about enjoying the atmos-phere.

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VENTURING OUTcontinued on page 8

A caroling we will go: a group of carolers, including Grace Thames, Amelia Thames, LucaScirica, Alex Auth, Emma Auth and Sofia Scirica spread the holiday cheer during LuminaryNight.

LUMINARY NIGHTcontinued on page 3

Venturing Out Helps Break Incarceration CycleStaged Reading Raises Funds for Wellesley-Based Organization

LaTanya Jones (right) and Mark Gibson prepare for their reading of The Castle.

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There are many stereotypesof incarcerated women. Someviews are fact-based, whilecountless opinions lean to-ward misrepresentations.Whatever the perception offemales behind bars, KathleenHughto’s vision is different:she simply sees a womanwhose life has taken a verydifficult turn.

“Most of the women wantall the things we want, prima-rily love,” the 27-year Welles-ley resident said. “That is whyit is important to reach out …it is such a gift to be with thewomen; to know their re-morse, regret, their sadness.Many don’t know what itfeels like to be loved. Most ofthem have been ignored, lefton their own to figure it out."

Kathleen, who is known as Kathy,is a volunteer in the Read to MeMommy program at the Massa-chusetts Correctional Institute-Framingham (MCI), the mediumsecurity women’s prison in Fram-ingham that is the oldest femalecorrectional facility in the UnitedStates. She has worked with themothers in the prison for the pastnine years.

“I was working on a Master ofArts in Ministry at Saint John’sSeminary, and needed a semesterof fieldwork study,” Kathy said.“And, nine years later, I’m still inmy ‘field study.’ It just took over.”She smiles.

In the Read to Me Mommy pro-gram, mothers are filmed reading abook to their child. The book, alongwith the video, is sent to the childas a “gift’ from their mother. Theprogram was started about 15 yearsago at MCI by a Catholic nun whoalso serves as chaplain at MCI andSouth Middlesex-Framingham, theminimum security prison forwomen with non-violent offences.

The books available to the moth-ers are supplied through donationsfrom various sources, including in-dividuals, churches, libraries, andorganizations. Books, as well asvideotapes and mailing envelopesare always welcomed.

“We engage the mothers in con-versations about their children,”Kathy said. “For example, a child

might like kittens or dogs. Then Igo to the library and ask the librar-ian what books are good for a six-year-old who loves dogs,” she said.

Kathy falls silent as hereyes wander into the distance. Aftera thoughtful pause, she begins tospeak fondly of the librarians at theWellesley Free Library.

“I can’t tell you enough abouthow nice and helpful the librariansat the Wellesley Free Library are tome. And to be able to go back to theprison and tell the women that thelibrarians are pulling for them andwant them to do their best and getbetter, it makes the women knowthat they are not forgotten,” Kathysaid, a smile filling her face as shealso chokes up.

Saint Paul's Parish in Wellesleyhas made the Read to Me Mommyprogram a part of their annualChristmastime “Giving Tree” do-nation. The Giving Tree is a projectin which the parishioners buyChristmas gifts for those in need,and although the donations reachpeople in over twelve different or-ganizations throughout the Bostonmetropolitan area, local groups areincluded, like the Wellesley Coun-cil on Aging and the Newton-Wellesley Alzheimer’s Association.Read to Me Mommy has been a re-cipient of books for the last threeyears.

“When I bring in the books fromchurch, it deepens the women’s de-sires to be a good mother,” Kathysaid. “The contributions are mak-

ing a difference.”

In order to qualify for theRead to Me Mommy pro-gram, the women must beable to have contact withtheir children; there must beno DSS (Department of So-cial Services) involvementand “they have to show upfor every session of the six-week program.”

Kathy explained that inthe same way it is importantfor the mothers to “showup” to the program, it is im-portant for her to be a con-stant, dependable source inthe women’s lives. “For thelast nine years, what hasbeen the most importantthing is just showing up.

Nobody has ever done that in theirlives. They know I’m there forthem. At the end of every day, thereis a tiny seed of hope,” Kathy said.

When videotaping the women forthe Read to Me Mommy program,one criterion is that “you can’t crywhen you record the book for thechild. Children don’t understandtears,” Kathy said. “To them, itmeans they are doing somethingwrong; they hurt. Rather, the moth-ers are positive when they arerecorded.” When recording, moth-ers are also encouraged to relate totheir children, like recalling a petthey may have had or a memorableoccasion. Bonding is crucial.

In addition to the Read to MeMommy program at MCI, Kathyalso conducts a prayer group and aspiritual devotion group. “There iscriticism by many that in prisonpeople find God. Well, they havenothing. When you enter prison,you are stripped of everything. If awoman comes into the prayer roomor the chapel, they are looking forGod,” Kathy said. She pauses.“The people who come to thegroups are so honest about whatthey’ve done and are now facingthe reality of why they are here. Formany, prison has saved their lives,their physical lives and spirituallives,” Kathy said.

According to the National Insti-tute of Justice, “Women offendershave needs different from those of

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Two workers assigned to theconstruction project at 27 Wash-ington Street were arrested forstealing copper wire valued at over$28,000 on Thursday, December15. Earlier in the week, membersof the Cranshaw ConstructionCompany reported a break in atthe construction site, which is lo-cated in the lower falls section ofWellesley. Cranshaw Constructionis managing the new constructionproject at 27 Washington Street.

Officer Tim Barros began inves-tigating the case this week. OfficerBarros learned that copper wire,delivered to the construction site,had been stolen from a lockedroom inside the gate. CranshawConstruction estimated that thevalue of the copper wire was ap-proximately $14,000. Officer Bar-ros further learned that a recent,previous break in at the construc-tion site also resulted in a theft of$14,000 worth of wire.

Officer Barros, working withDetective Chris Connelly andmembers of Cranshaw Construc-

tion, were able to compile surveil-lance videos, and determined thatone of the thefts and break in oc-curred in the early evening hourson December 12.

Cranshaw Construction mem-bers were able to identify two ofthe suspects on the video as sub-contractors that worked at the site.Officer Barros, Officer ConorAshe, and Detective Connelly lo-cated the two suspects working at27 Washington Street and placedthem under arrest.

Taken into custody was Paul L.Beck Jr., 31, of Methuen andDerek Discisio, 37, of Billerica.Both suspects were charged withbreaking and entering at night intoa building, larceny from a build-ing, malicious destruction, andpossession of burglarious tools.These are all felony charges. Bothsuspects will be arraigned at Ded-ham District Court on Friday, De-cember 16.

The case remains under investi-gation.

Copper Wire Stolen,Two Suspects Arrested

January 1, 2012 Local Town Pages www.wellesleytownnews.com Page 3

and enjoy each other," notes theClub's marketing director BethSullivan Woods, who pointed outthat many neighborhoods in townorganize special events each Lumi-nary Night, including trolleys,horse drawn carriages, and carol-ing groups.

Indeed, in the Poet's Cornerneighborhood that evening onegroup of carolers was travelingfrom house to house to spread hol-iday cheer. The group came to-gether thanks to the last-minuteefforts of resident Joe Auth.

"They usually do a trolley, but

they couldn't this year, so we justdecided to do something fun,"Auth said.

Among the carolers were JacobWagner, Reid Carpenter, EmmieLaudano, Andrew Ng, Sofia Scir-ica, Emma Auth, Grace Thames,Ryan Harding, Amelia Thames,Caroline Harding, Alex Auth,Drew Carpenter, Katherine Ng,Henry Laudano, Luca Scirica,Abigail Wagner, and Charlie Car-penter.

The Wellesley Hills JuniorWomen's Club is a volunteer or-ganization whose four yearlyfundraisers are the WellesleyPhone Book, the Wellesley Mar-

ketplace Craft Festival, LuminaryNight and the Wellesley KitchenTour. Currently, the Club is accept-ing applications from students whoreside in Wellesley or have gradu-ated from Wellesley High Schoolfor two scholarships, the WHJWCPatricia C. Doiron Memorial

Scholarship - for high school sen-iors who have shown a commit-ment to Early ChildhoodEducation through participation inthe Child Lab program; and theSuzanne Stevens Scholarship - fora graduating senior (or current col-lege student) who has demon-

strated strength when faced withadversity while maintaining astrong academic record and in-volvement in community service.

Applications are due February 1.For more information, visitwww.WHJWC.org.

LUMINARY NIGHTcontinued from page 1

The crew of carolers included: Back row: Jacob Wagner, Reid Carpenter, Emmie Laudano, Andrew Ng, Sofia Scirica,Emma Auth, Grace Thames, Ryan Harding, Amelia Thames, Caroline Harding. Front row: Alex Auth, Drew Carpen-ter, Katherine Ng, Henry Laudano, Luca Scirica, Abigail Wagner, Charlie Carpenter.

Lights put on display during Luminary Night were a way of donating tothe Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club.

BY DAVE HALPERIN

Members of the Temple BethElohim community and guests cel-ebrated Hanukah at the syna-gogue's Hanukah Carnival onDecember 18.

Amidst games for kids like Pinthe Tail on the Kite, a pie-eatingcontest, and a bounce house,

Hanukah traditions were cele-brated and traditional foods likepotato latkes were eaten. Organ-ized and run by Temple Beth Elo-him's eighth through twelfth gradeyouth group, BELY (Beth ElohimLocal Youth), the Hanukah Carni-val was all in the name of havingfun and emphasizing tzedakahduring the Festival of Lights.

Tzedakah is the Jewish traditionof giving to those less fortunate.

"Not only is [the Carnival] a cel-ebration of Hanukah, but it's also achance to raise money for thoseless fortunate," said Rabbi JoelSisenwine. "The important thing isbringing light to the dark places inthe world, with the message ofhope."

BELY's Noam Kahn chaired theHanukah Carnival committee,which recruited local businesses todonate funds, which were used tobuy raffle items. Proceeds from theraffle and from tickets for the eventwill be used towards BELY's so-cial activities and to support a wor-thy charity. In the past the grouphas supported various organiza-tions, including More than Wordsin Waltham.

For Laura Hyman, the temple'sDirector of Havayah (teen pro-gramming) and Beit Midrash(House of Learning), the Carnivalis a way for the teens in BELY to

interact with and role model forchildren.

"At BELY and Temple Beth Elo-him we're all about empowering

our teens, and for the younger kids,they see teenagers in these incred-ible leadership roles," Hyman said.

Celebrating the Festival of LightsHanukah Carnival Means Fun, Games, and Giving at Beth Elohim

Steph Seiden (left) and Rachel Turk running the Pin the Tail on the Kite game.

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BY DAVE HALPERIN

On December 2, seven hundredmostly high school juniors andseniors took part in a formal tradi-tion dating back to the 1940s. Ac-cording to organizers, the inviteeswere jumping at the bit for achance to take after their predeces-sors.

"At 6:30 there were probably 400of them already in line" at theDorothy Quincy Suite at the BackBay Events Center, said Cotillion2011 Co-Chair Cheryl LaMee-Ludwig of the 700 high schooljuniors and seniors and otherguests who attended the 7 p.m.event. "There was a tremendouslevel of excitement; they were justtrying to get their heads aroundwhat the evening was going to beall about."

The excitement was indicative ofnot only the size and historicalprominence of the Cotillion, butthe uniquely formal behavior andattire as well as the decorations,food, and music.

Once the clock struck 7, the line

of teens made its way down thegrand staircase of the DorothyQuincy Suite to the registrationhall, before checking their coats.Then they went through a formalreceiving line of eight adults.

"[The girls] were darling, alldressed up in their gowns, andsome of the guys introduced theirdates and themselves [to the adultsin the receiving line]," LaMee-Ludwig said. "Their parents hadcoached them on what a receivingline is."

The receiving line helped contex-tualize this atypical dance, but or-ganizers were busy well beforeDecember 2 in making sure thateveryone understood the expecta-tions of a formal affair.

"We really took it very seriously,the education piece of it," LaMee-Ludwig explained. "This is reallyblack tie, and black tie is not justwhat you're wearing, it's howyou're behaving. We expect thatkids will have to rise to the occa-sion of going to a formal partymany more times in their life... andthis is practice for what that's

about."

Once inside the Dorothy QuincySuite, guests wasted no time so-cializing and enjoying the music ofthe DJ, or, if they needed a break,retreating to what organizers calledCafe Chill, a separate space with apianist and food. Moreover, thework of the Decorations Commit-tee could be seen everywhere.

"I said to both of our DecorationsCommittee chairs, Leslie Bernd-sen and Kathy LaPoint, 'I reallywish that the kids could see whatthe Dorothy Quincy Suite lookslike without the decorations,'"LaMee-Ludwig said. "It's so plainand corporate, and they reallytransformed it into a winter won-derland."

LaMee-Ludwig described aplace brightened by poinsettiasand varieties of white flowers, hol-iday lights, and nine-foot tall trees.

Berndsen, LaPoint, and Co-Chairs LaMee-Ludwig and SusanKoeneman were just three of about85 volunteers who came togetherto produce 2011's version of ayearly gift to the young adults ofWellesley. The event is independ-ent of Wellesley High School andis free to attend thanks to the vol-unteers' fundraising efforts and thedonations of many businesses andindividuals.

In addition to the 11-person plan-ning board, there were decorations,coat check, and food committeesas well 35 chaperones on handduring the Cotillion itself. Then,arriving at the end of the night waswhat LaMee-Ludwig called "a re-ally incredible team of six to eightpeople who came to help breakdown."

"We were all dressed up in for-mal attire, and they came out in themiddle of the night in jeans and

tennis shoes," she said.

The 2011 Cotillion now over,January is a time for the passing ofthe torches. Both Co-Chairs and all41 Committee Members are hand-ing their responsibilities on to par-ents interested in organizing for the2012 Cotillion. Committee andchaperone roles are traditionallyfilled by parents whose childrenare high school juniors during thetime of that year's Cotillion.

"By January someone needs tobe in place to sign the contract onthe Back Bay Center... It needs tobe signed by February or March,"LaMee-Ludwig said.

With that in mind, next year's Co-Chairs are already in place: JessicaDelprette and Lori Place will takethe reins from LaMee-Ludwig andKoeneman.

"They're absolutely the best peo-ple to take it over, and I knowthey're going to do a great job,"LaMee-Ludwig noted, adding thatalong with passing the baton shemay pass along some helpful ad-vice: have fun and remember whatthe Cotillion is all about.

"Someone said to be a duck, andjust let it all roll off, and let your-self enjoy the night... and if you getstressed out, remember that it re-ally is about the kids," she said,joking that, as fun as the experi-ence was, there is some relief inpassing the torch. "I'm givingthem the pen and the notebook,and there's no turning back."

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men, stemming in part from theirdisproportionate victimizationfrom sexual and physical abuseand their responsibility for chil-dren.” In a 2010 report of data col-lected in 2009 by local lawenforcement agencies to the Fed-eral Bureau of Investigation’s Uni-form Crime Reporting, femalesrepresented 25.3 percent of all ar-rests; approximately 17 percent offemale arrestees were juvenilesunder 18 years of age and 4.7 per-cent were females under the age of15. Most females in prison areoverwhelmingly poor and usuallymothers with children less than 18years.

“Most of the women, about 85percent are incarcerated because ofalcohol and drug addiction,” Kathysaid. “There are lifers in here; peo-ple who have committed armedrobberies, embezzlement, butmostly for selling drugs. Most ofthe women don’t know what itmeans to be a mother, about propernutrition, or how to deal withstress,” she continued. “They areborn into sad, dysfunctional fami-lies – poverty, no education. Aftera while, the stories don’t matter:they are just lonely, lost and forgot-ten women.”

There is reason for hope, how-ever. Both MCI and South Middle-sex offer mental health, substanceabuse, and medical programs forthe women to aid their recovery.There are also educational serv-ices, family services, library, reli-gious, recreation and communityservice. “When a woman is in thelast two years of a sentence, and ifthey are non-violent offenders,they go across the street to the min-imum security prison (South Mid-dlesex),” Kathy said. “They areable to go to work at Roche Broth-ers or Dunkin' Donuts. It is impor-tant to get the women into

Alcoholics Anonymous. There areall kinds of classes, like anger man-agement, life skills; the womenwho take advantage of these pro-grams, like getting their GED, usu-ally succeed. There are greatstories of women out there who aremaking it.”

Kathleen Hughto, originally fromConnecticut, has lived in Wellesleywith her husband, Rick, since1984. They have four children, twoboys and two girls, who were edu-cated in the Wellesley school sys-tem. Kathy works in real estate, atRutledge Properties. “I love peopleand I love the town of Wellesley.My youngest child is finishing atWellesley High School, so I startedtaking classes in real estate. I loveto match the right people with theright house,” she said.

“My time at the prison has mademy life so much more enriched be-cause of the honesty of thewomen,” Kathy said. “Their hon-esty is just so raw; how they havecome through so much and sur-vived. I believe that the differenceyou make in one person’s life, oneperson’s day, to make it a brighterday, is tremendous. Everybody in-side and outside of prison needs ahand; you get so much more out ofit than what you give,” Kathy said.

By all accounts Kathleen willkeep on giving. She is a BrightLight in Wellesley as well as in thelives of countless women in Mas-sachusetts. “I always say to myself,‘at the end of this year, I’m done,’and every year I go back. It is be-cause of the women I left behind. Ijust go back, and my life getsricher. I just keep showing up,”Kathy said.

Bright Lights: Wellesleyites YouShould Know appears in each edi-tion of Wellesley Local TownPages. Please email Je'Lesia M.Jones at [email protected] withBright Lights' suggestions.


BRIGHT LIGHTScontinued from page 2

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“Festival of Trees”Spreads Holiday CheerBY ZACKARY LAMOTHE

The Massachusetts HorticultureSociety ran its third annual “Fes-tival of Trees” from November 23to December 10.Located at itsheadquarters, ElmBank Reservation,Festival of Treeswas a unique wayfor the Society toraise money tohelp maintaintheir lush andbeautiful gardens.

With the $8price of admis-sion, visitors to the Festival wereable to place raffle tickets in frontof various trees in the hopes ofwinning that tree's particular raffle.One could place all their raffletickets in front of one tree orspread the tickets among severaltrees.

The trees were displayed care-fully and impressively. Each treewas given by either a local organ-ization or private individual orfamily. During its inaugural run in2009, the Festival showcased 25trees; this year, only two yearslater, the event expanded to 70generously donated trees of allshapes and sizes, as well as metic-ulously crafted gingerbreadhouses.

Inside the building, the treeswere placed along the perimeter aswell as in a figure-eight shape inthe interior. The trees ran thegamut from traditional five foottall, faux evergreens adorned withpinecones, ornaments, and Christ-mas images to others moreuniquely displayed, includingMass Hort’s own hot pink“Princess Tree.”

The “Princess Tree" was coveredin gifts of particular interest togirls. Other “trees” were not treesat all! One was actually a limegreen kayak standing on end thatwas filled with clear glass ball or-naments which contained gener-ous gift certificates to localbusinesses. Another unique dis-play was entitled “Christmas inthe Serengeti” in which a threefoot wood carved giraffe was atthe centerpiece of the presentation.

The tree contributed by theThursday Garden Club of Sud-bury, entitled “Morgan’s Gift”,

was especially moving. Itsbranches were adorned in scrupu-lously crafted origami cranes by ayoung Hawaiian woman who is

currently a patient in a Bostonhospital. Another theme tree wasthe “Beer Not Bear” tree fromBelmont’s Craft Beer Cellar,which consisted entirely of micro-brews. A tree that would appeal tothe younger set was covered inUgly Dolls. Other tree displayswere donated by Russell’s GardenCenter of Wayland, Strays in Needfrom Natick, and Bartlett Tree Ex-perts. In addition to bidding on thetrees, the gingerbread houses wereoffered as prizes. These ginger-bread houses would be more aptlynamed gingerbread chateaux, withhighly detailed designs includingone house that actually had an in-terior!

The fun continued outdoors,with the grounds directly sur-rounding the Mass Hort buildingsdecorated festively for the season.Children were excited to take atrain ride around Elm Bank, andSanta visited several timesthroughout the eighteen day cele-bration. Located close to thebuilding’s entrance was a fire pitthat warmed up chilly visitors.The festival was a great way toraise money for the HorticultureSociety through the extremelycharitable donations of trees dec-orated with hundreds of dollars inprizes, and by inviting the eagerpublic to buy raffle tickets to try towin one of the highly coveteditems. The event was exquisitelyexecuted, from the bighearted giftsgiven by local benefactors, to theshowcase of trees, and the rangeof fun activities offered. The Mas-sachusetts Horticulture Societypresented an enchanted evening ofholiday cheer that was both for agood cause and for good Christ-mas themed fun.

BY DAVE HALPERIN

The work of a family of two orthree beavers has caused floodingin two Wellesley neighborhoods,and a decision by several town de-partments led to a plan to trap andkill the beavers, then breach thedams they created.

According to Health Depart-ment Director Leonard Izzo,several residents of streets nearthe Recycling and Disposal Fa-cility (RDF) contacted the De-partment of Public Works toreport flooding in their proper-ties.

"We have an active beaverdam down by the RDF," Izzosaid. "[The issue] came upabout a month and half ago(early November) when resi-dents of Cartwright Road andEisenhower Circle started callingthe DPW engineer because theynoticed water was backing up be-hind their houses."

Realizing it was an animal con-trol issue, the DPW in turn con-tacted Izzo's department.

"The initial reaction by peoplewas to remove the beaver dam andthe beavers" but regulations re-strict such actions, so that townsdon't send problem animals toother communities, Izzo said.

The standstill prompted a meet-

ing between several town employ-ees, including employees in theHealth Department, the DPW, andthe Natural Resources Commis-sion. The first move by the groupwas to contract a private companywith beaver expertise to look into

the situation, and Beaver Solu-tions, Inc. of Southampton wasasked to examine the situation.

According to Izzo, beavers builddams in order to raise the waterlevel so that their lodges will bepartially submerged underwater,providing protection from preda-tors and a place to store food dur-ing the winter. The question waswhether Beaver Solutions wouldbe able to install a flow device thatcould keep the water from risingso high that it disturbs surrounding

homes and properties, while al-lowing the beavers to maintaintheir habitat.

"[Beaver Solutions] came outand looked at it. Their job is to de-termine if the beavers can cohabi-

tate with humans [in thatparticular area]," Izzo said,adding that in an area of lowwetlands, where Fuller Brookand its tributaries run through,the addition of the dams meantthat water in the area "is reallyencroaching on people's prop-erties."

The verdict from Beaver So-lutions was that such a solutionwould not be possible. Instead,Izzo said, the beavers would betrapped and killed and thebeaver dams breached. Bothactions were expected to startby December 15 and take a

couple of days.

Natural Resources CommissionDirector Janet Hartke Bowser saidthat in her 14 years with the town,this is the first instance of beaverscausing problems. She also saidthat it appeared that just two orthree beavers were responsible forthe rise in water level.

Izzo said the beaver populationis growing state-wide, and thatseveral area towns, particularlyNeedham, have had problemslately.

Busy Beavers Cause FloodingWater Encroaches on Properties, Prompting Removal of Animals

BY DAVE HALPERIN

Up against the negativity of storeclosings on Central Street, the re-cent Wellesley Square MerchantsAssociation's Holiday Stroll was ashining Christmas light of in-creased business for shopkeepersand a bagful of gift certificates forone family of Holiday Stroll rafflewinners.

Taking place on a beautiful,sunny Sunday in early December,the Stroll featured the participa-tion of 50 Wellesley Square busi-nesses offering individual dealsand discounts, a visit from SantaClaus and the singing skills of twogroups of Wellesley High Schoolcarolers.

And while the basic concept ofthe Stroll is a tradition some 20years in the making, this yearmarked two firsts: outdoor musicvia wireless speakers and the raf-fling off of a collection of gift cer-tificates contributed by all of theevent's merchant-participants.

To be entered into the drawing,shoppers needed to have theirHoliday Stroll card stamped by 12stores.

"[The raffle concept] was gener-ated from a place of wanting to getpeople excited about shoppingdowntown," said Carbonaro Pho-tography's Nancy Carbonaro, whocame up with the raffle idea."There's been so much concernabout what's not here, versus whatis here - the shopping experience,the one-on-one customer serviceand the personal attention - andwe just wanted to encourage peo-ple to come experience the good-ness of what is downtownWellesley."

More than 200 Stroll cards werepassed into organizers, and onelucky family won the grand prize:the Maggionis of Wellesley werenotified a couple of days later thatthere card had been chosen andChristmas would come early forthem in the form of $1,125 in giftcertificates to 50 stores in thesquare.

"We were just strolling and theyhad the cards and we filled itout...I guess luck was on our side,"said Sue Maggioni, who ex-plained that she and her daughtersdidn't know about the raffle untilthey arrived that day, but that get-ting the necessary stamps quicklybecame a team effort.

Sophie Maggioni, 8, said thewhole family, including her sistersIzzy, 11, and Zoe, 6, and their fa-ther, John, was surprised by thephone call from the WellesleySquare Merchants Association.

"Mom was especially surprised,because we got the phone call andthen she got home later and wetold her," she said.

True to the holiday spirit, theMaggionis said their first use ofthe gift certificates would be tofind a gift for a Toys for Tots re-cipient they had been told of, anine year old girl named Brenda.

While the plan for Holiday Strollhad been to award just the onelucky winner, since several storesreported exceptional sales figures

that day, individual merchants de-cided to award additional gift cer-tificates to several entrants. StuartSwan Furniture gave away fouradditional gift certificates whileLondon Harness gave away an ad-ditional six.

Adding to the festive atmosphereduring the stroll that day were theaforementioned two groups ofcarolers from Wellesley HighSchool, with each group featuringmembers of the Key Notes andRice Street Singers.

Matt Norwood, who was leadingone of the high school carolinggroups that day, said their involve-ment was a combination of enjoy-ing themselves and contributing tothe event.

"It's just our way of giving backto the town, and it's a good bond-ing experience," he said. "It's al-ways nice to see people enjoyingour music."

Julie Hockett, another caroler,said, "It's really fun. You wanderaround and sing, which we all loveto do."

Overall the Stroll was said to bethe best one in recent memory.

"There's definitely increased foottraffic," Carbonaro said that day."People are out shopping and ex-cited about the Holiday Stroll - it'sthe best I've seen in a while."


Holiday Stroll Lights up Wellesley SquareMerchants Association Reports Big Sales, Awards Raffle-Winning Family

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Nancy Carbonaro (left) of Carbonaro Photography and Demian Wendrow(second from left) of London Harness presented Izzy, Sophie, Sue, andZoe Maggioni with the Wellesley Square Merchants Association's RafflePrize after Holiday Stroll. Courtesy Photo.

Ben Conlon discusses gift ideas with Santa during the Holiday Stroll.

Carolers from the high school made their way through the Square duringHoliday Stroll. Here, they sing Winter Wonderland.


Arts In Wellesley

Business and Entrepreneurship.

During the reading, Gibson,Jones, Yebba, and Farmer por-trayed, respectively, the charactersof Ken, Vilma, Cas, and Angel,whose life stories demonstratedhow abuse or neglect during child-hood can lead to poor choices anddangerous situations in teenage-hood and adulthood. They alsotold stories of their time in prison,and the often cruel realities ofprison life, especially for youngerprisoners who, Gibson, as Ken,said, "Have no choice but to fightfor their lives."

But the characters and, later, theactors and panelists, said that com-ing to terms with one's past whilein prison and taking advantage oftraining programs like the one of-fered by Venturing Out, can be thekey to turning one's life around.

"You can reduce the recidivismrate in half," Larivee said duringthe discussion, by offering pro-grams like Venturing Out. And, ac-cording to Venturing Out's ownliterature, those who are releasedand are unable to find work arethree to five times more likely tocommit another crime.

Gibson, himself a graduate ofVenturing Out's Entrepreneurship101 during his time at the SuffolkCounty House of Corrections, toldthe gathering of Venturing Outsupporters, volunteers, and others,that former prisoners have beenshown to become excellent smallbusiness owners.

"If you're an ex-offender who be-comes an entrepreneur, you'remore likely to be successful [thanother entrepreneurs]. I guess thehunger is there," he said, referringto a recent study.

Unfortunately, Gibson noted,Suffolk County has a high rate of

recidivism, and Gibson and sev-eral others pleaded audiencemembers to support VenturingOut, which has the stated goal ofoffering its classes in prisonsacross Massachusetts and the en-tire country.

One reason, panelists said, forthe high rate of recidivism, is Mas-sachusetts' heavy reliance on theCORI system, a database of con-victed criminals that many em-ployers reference before hiring aperson. Therefore, entrepreneur-ship makes sense.

Also, said Porter, the process ofstarting one's own business is ametaphor for positive change ingeneral.

"Entrepreneurship is akin inmany ways to life," he said. "Itstarts with a program and a plan.You decide what you're passionateabout and then you can turn thatinto a business."

VENTURING OUTcontinued from page 1

Mark Gibson (left), Lonnie Farmer, and LaTanya Jones.

BYRENEE REYNOLDS

Debbie Harary, an artisan fromthe Clever Hand Gallery in Welles-ley, visited a Wellesley High artclass on November 21 to offer anart lesson to students.

The ceramics class, which istaken by primarily seniors andsome juniors as a major course, istaught by Amie Ciluffo-Larson.She says Harary is one of severalartists from the Clever Hand whowill be visiting the class this schoolyear.

“We are hoping to get at leastfour artists from the Clever Handto come in this year and teach dif-ferent techniques,” Amie Ciluffo-Larson said.

Harary, a graduate from the Fash-ion Institute in Technology with adegree in textile design, has had heroriginal designs used for costumesand Broadway and published inSeventeen Magazine.

Throughout the lesson, Hararytalked to students primarily aboutcutting and melting glass, thenpassed around a glass cutter and al-lowed students to cut their ownglass. The students were thengiven an assignment to begin,which involved cutting stringersand gluing them to glass in a grid

format, to be finished at a laterdate.

Ciluffo-Larson said the goal is tohave the students to put together aportfolio and to have one or twoartists from the Clever Hand comeby and do a portfolio review at theend of the school year as a finalexam.

Ann Schunior, a potter at theClever Hand, says this will be thesecond year of collaboration be-tween the gallery and the art de-partment and that other artists willbe giving different workshops tothe students in January, February

and March.

According to Ciluffo-Larson, thestudents work will be on display inthe window at the Clever Handfrom April 8 to 19, and there willbe a reception at the gallery for thestudents on April 10.

Schunior says the collaboration isa fun way to celebrate art in theschool systems.

“It is our way of celebratingyoung art in the community,” shesaid.

The Clever Hand Gallery is lo-cated at 52 Central Street.

Local Artist Shows Off Her Clever Hand at High School

Students Haley Crocker and Margaret Connors work on an assignmentgiven by Debbie Harary.

Producer RecruitingPairs of Contestantsfor WellesleyMedia Corp.Game ShowAre you a Scrabble su-

perstar? A math maven?Do you think you couldout-word and out-calcu-late your opponents towin some prizes? Comeapply for a new WellesleyChannel game show.

“Word Nerd Plus” is the newshow from the producer of“Wellesley Password” and“Where In Wellesley?”

We are looking for pairs of con-testants high-school-age or olderto compete in the show. The com-mitment will be two weekendtaping days in early 2012 – thefirst taping day will be Saturday,January 28. The shows will betaped in the Olin Auditorium on

the campus of Babson College inWellesley.

In addition, we are looking for alive audience to cheer on the con-testants at the tapings. Admissionis free, but we are suggesting adonation of food items for theWellesley Food Pantry.

If you are interested, pleaseemail Aaron at [email protected].

Calling All Word Nerdsand Math Mavens


Read The Paper Online

at:www.WellesleyTownNews.com

Call for Entries to Third Roundof “Zip-Code Stories”, On-Air andOnline Series Celebrating LocalWriters and Locales

WBUR’s Radio Boston and TheDrum Literary Magazine havejoined forces to create “Zip CodeStories,” a special literary seriesand writing competition that show-cases local neighborhoods, citiesand towns.

Aspiring writers are invited tosubmit original short stories andessays that take place in one of fourdesignated zip codes selected eachmonth for a chance to have theirpiece featured on WBUR’s award-winning website, wbur.org, and onThe Drum’s website,drumlitmag.com. One of the fourwinning pieces will also be fea-tured on the air during RadioBoston, heard weekdays from 3

p.m. – 4 p.m. on 90.9 FM, WBUR,Boston’s NPR News Station.

“We hope that breaking down theregion by zip code will give peoplea chance to experience a uniqueperspective and deeper look intovarious towns, neighborhoods andvillages that make up GreaterBoston,” said Mark Navin, execu-tive producer, Radio Boston.

Last month, listeners were askedto submit stories highlighting zipcodes 02144 (Somerville), 01851(Lowell), 01970 (Salem), and01702 (Framingham) for the se-ries’ second round. The winningentry came from Liz Moore ofFramingham for her story, “TheStart of Something.”

Entries are now being sought forthe third round of the series forshort stories and essays that take

place in the following zip codes:01930 (Gloucester), 02301(Brockton), 02131 (Roslindale)and 02482 (Wellesley). Storiesmay be fiction or non-fiction andmust take place in one of the fourfeatured zip codes (note: entrantsdo not need to live in any of thespecific areas to be eligible). Apanel from WBUR and The Drumwill review each submission andselect one winning entry.

The deadline for submissions is10 p.m. EST on Thursday, January9, 2012. Stories may be submittedonline, by snail mail or via Broad-castr, a social media platform forlocation-based stories.

To learn more about “Zip CodeStories” and for specifics on howto submit your original piece, visitwbur.org/zipcode.

WBUR’S Radio Boston and theDrum Literary Magazine Team UpTo Create Local Writing Competition

The Wellesley Choral Societypresents its second concert of theseason on Saturday, January 28. Asalways this mid-winter concert isin the style of a pops/cabaret per-formance meant to entertain andamuse. This year's motto is A FolkSong Feast, featuring songs fromaround the world. These folktunes are glimpses into the cultureof a people. They will be presentedeither in their original, mostly un-adorned style, the way they weresung by the people of a givencountry, or they will be performedas arrangements of folk tunes byfamous composers such as AaronCopland, Johannes Brahms, BélaBartók, Vaughan Williams andBenjamin Britten.

The countries represented in theconcert are the US, Mexico, Israel,South Africa, Germany, Hungary,Russia, China, the British Isles andothers.

This concert will be led by TedWhalen, Music Director of theWellesley Choral Society andpiano accompaniment is by HisakoHiratsuka. In keeping with thespirit of a pops/cabaret perform-ance, this is a casual, relaxed event.The audience is seated at tablesand complimentary refreshmentswill be provided. A raffle and sing-along add to the evening's enter-tainment.

The Choral Society will donate alimited number of free tickets to

the Wellesley Council on Aging. Afew days before the concert,Wellesley senior citizens may pickthem up at 219 Washington Street.Call 781-235-3961 first to makesure tickets are still available.

The concert takes place on Satur-day, January 28, 7 p.m., at Welles-ley Hills Congregational Church,207 Washington Street (near theintersection of routes 9 and 16).Directions to the church can befound on the WCS website,www.wellesleychoralsociety.org.The church is handicapped acces-sible and there is ample free park-ing. Tickets are sold at the door:$15 regular admission, $12 sen-iors, and $5 students.

A Folk Song Feast, January 28th

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BYDAVE HALPERIN

January 18, 2012 will mark the28th time that Martin Luther KingJr. Day has been celebrated as a na-tional holiday. It will also featurethe 12th annual Martin LutherKing Jr. Day Breakfast, hosted byWorld of Wellesley (WOW) andtaking place at Sun Life Financial,1 Sun Life Place from 8:30-10 a.m.

The 2012 Breakfast featuresguest speaker Fayneese Miller,dean of the college of Educationand Social Services and professorHuman Development, EducationalLeadership and Social Policy at theUniversity of Vermont. She is alsoChair of the Vermont State Boardof Education.

The choice of Miller relates to atheme of education for this year'sBreakfast, which coincides with anoverall celebration of education inWellesley because of the openingof the new high school. AdditionalBreakfast appearances include per-formances by the Wellesley HighSchool Thunder Step Squaddancers and the Wellesley ChoralSociety; and WOW will presenttheir annual Advancing Race Re-

lations Award. Past recipients in-clude Roche Bros. and WellesleyMETCO.

Overall it's a chance to celebratethe message of Dr. King.

"It really fits very well with themission of the World of Wellesley,which is to recognize and celebratediversity and civil rights," saidBreakfast committee memberMelissa Clemence, "and MartinLuther King Jr. was obviously ahero in that regard."

Adds Chairman of the World ofWellesley Board of DirectorsRichard McGhee, "We are allabout diversity... and [MartinLuther King Jr.] was the personwho led the nation in understand-ing the ills of discrimination andprejudice and he also pushed hardfor most, if not all, of the civilrights legislation that came aboutin that period of time."

McGhee himself has been a partof that movement for many years,having worked with the Massachu-setts Commission Against Dis-crimination, for whom hecoordinated the Human RightsCommission program. Moreover,he met Dr. King back in 1963 dur-ing a march sponsored by theUnited Auto Workers in Detroit.

Times have changed since the'60s, but the focus for World ofWellesley echoes that era. In addi-tion to the Breakfast, the group willcontribute to the community thatday through a service project.Service projects from past years in-clude volunteering at the WellesleyFood Pantry and painting awomen's shelter.

Tickets for the annual MLKBreakfast are $25, and are avail-able at the door only.


12th Annual MLK Breakfast World of Wellesley to Celebrate Diversity on January 18

The Wellesley High School Thunder Step Squad dancers at a previous year'sMLK Breakfast.

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The Wellesley Choral Society will perform on January 18.

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Santa and Mrs. ClausWho: Santa and Mrs. Claus, also known as Bill and Denise Arsenault

Where spotted: At the Wellesley Square Merchants' Association's Hol-iday Stroll

How often does he do this? Denise: He does this every year for his of-fice, the North Hill Retirement Community, and then ... they asked himto start doing the Holiday Stroll.

What's it like for Mrs. Claus? Denise: It's hectic. It's busy. It's chaotic.I'm just making sure things go right, that he's dressed right.

How come Mrs. Claus is in street clothes? So many people have askedif I would be Mrs. Claus but I haven't gotten there yet.

Georgina and NikkiWho: Georgina Cannie (left) andNikki Vance

Where spotted:Walking togetherwith dogs Owen and Bo.

Why Centennial Park?Georgina: I go to Mass Bay andthere's off-leash here, so [Bo] lovesit. Nikki: There's tons of dogs anddog walkers here all the time, andeveryone's friendly.

How long have the dogs knowneach other? Nikki: About 45 min-utes.

How long have you guys knowneach other? Nikki: We just met

too... I come by myself and I usu-ally meet other people.

Our Town & Around By Dave Halperin

The JamalisWho: Ali, Amir,Armon, and Moham-mad Jamali

Where spotted:

Centennial Park

How often do youguys do this?

Mohammad: We dothis every week. Mysons love this. Theyget a break from the

computer, from XBox.

What now? Mohammad: We're heading home for lunch.

Shayan RazaWho: Shayan Raza

Where spotted:Wellesley DentalGroup's Candy Drive

What brings you here? I'm hereto pretty much film the event that's

going on, and take pictures, andthen I'm going to put everything to-gether and put it up on YouTube.I'm Dr. Ali's tech guy, I guess.

When did you get into makingvideos? I started to get into it in2nd grade, when I had to do a proj-ect.

What do you like about it? I justlike doing it... I always liked com-puters and when I started using [aprogram for making videos] Ithought, this is really cool.

What are the challenges? Thetoughest thing is that when I'mfilming, most of my friends burstout laughing about the things wecome up with.

Do you live in Wellesley? No,Needham.

The KinneysWho: The Kinneys, including,from L to R, Ethan, 6; Brian; Eliz-abether, 3; Amanda; and dog Tru-man

Where Spotted: Centennial Park(forest)

What are they up to? TakingTruman out for a walk

Why Centennial Park? Brian:We live in town and found this tobe a great place to walk and greatfor the kids. It's a hidden gem...you get a lot of people here fromNewton because it's nice and wideopen.

What kind of dog is Truman?Amanda: He's a Rhodesian Ridge-back.

Trevin Hatch and Andrew StefuraWho: Trevin Hatch and Andrew Stefura

Where spotted: Cameron Street

What are they upto? Scootering.

Why scooters in-stead of somethingelse? Trevon: Welike doing tricks andstuff.

How do you guysknow each other?Andrew: We go toschool together, andI came out to hishouse from Roslin-dale.


For Your Eyes OnlyWe’ve all heard that we have the

instinctive ability as communica-tors to connect and create rapportand relationships within seconds ofmaking eye contact—the efferves-

cent effect of the gaze, the momen-tary glance that gives away untoldstories, the drama of the day sharedby a fleeting look. We have somany ways to express the notabil-ity of the eyes—“windows to thesoul…eyes of the beholder…thegateway to your inner life…the evileye.” The eyes are your backstoryand the running monologue in themind. Eyes communicate all-im-

portant social cues that speak vol-umes about our mindsets, attitude,openness, honesty, and willingnessto listen. From the color, shape,speed and pattern of eye move-ments to the severity and intensityof eye expression...what are yourbaby blues saying?

Elle magazine’s article, Eye Gaz-ing Parties, captures the power ofthe eyes by saying that daters stareinto each other’s eyes up to fiveminutes before moving on to thenext eye partner. Ten minutes ofstaring into a stranger's eyes cantell you more about them than tenminutes of conversing verbally!Executive coaches teach tech-niques of “eye scanning” when en-tering a crowded room. If you’veseen Lie to Me on television, youknow that deception can be deci-phered within the most minute

shift of the eyes. Whether the com-munication is for personal or pro-fessional purposes, the eyes havethe power to make or break a po-tential life-long connection withinseconds.

Steve Jobs was famous for havingan aura of confidence, and persua-sive powers. Audiences would sur-render to his will, being completelycaptured by his seductive eye com-munication and charismatic charm.Another notable eye charmer wasBill Clinton, whose faculty formaking eye contact was often spo-ken of.

So, what’s the secret to Clinton,Jobs, and many other highly suc-cessful eye communicators?

1) Eye People on the Street:As you walk down the street look

at the eyes of every person walkingtowards you long enough to seetheir eye color. Then look away.This technique builds solid eyecontact skills quickly. If the eyecontact is brief enough, no oneminds at all, and you get tons ofpractice in. Practice longer eyecontact with waiters, salesclerks,cashiers, and other paid servicestaff, so long as you do it respect-fully and in a friendly way. Keep aneutral facial expression and softgaze. You don’t want anyone tothink you’re trying to stare them

down, expecting a response, or thatyou pose a threat.

2) Practice “Eye Presence”:You know the people who make

eye contact but have a hard time fo-cusing, as if their mind is on some-thing else more important. Toavoid this habitual empty eye gaze,focus on every part of the face ofthe person you’re listening to, andconnect information they're tellingyou out loud to parts of their face.For instance, notice simultaneouslytheir name and position, and thecolor of their eyes.

3) Practice Eye Stretches:Before you go out to that next

party or meeting, practice exercisesto open and stretch your eye sock-ets and close and relax them. Lookintently in every direction threetimes. Try a pattern of eyes goingup, to the side, and down. Thisopens and wakes up your eye mus-cles and helps tired or stressedeyes.

Try these eye tips for a week asyou go about your daily business,and the quality of your eye contactwill become better than most peo-ple’s, and you will cultivate theskills of a master eye ninja in notime! And remember: keep your“Eye on the ball at all times!”

Speech and the City

January 2Capoeira at the Fitness Center

for Women, 200 Linden Street,from 10:15 - 11:15 a.m. everyMonday and Wednesday evening.Free trial class. Capoeira is anAfro-Brazilian art form that com-bines elements of fighting, acro-batics, dance and music. In classyou will experience fundamentalmovements such as kicks, escapesand sweeps. Students will spar inpairs, learn optional acrobatic playand participate in a traditional rodacircle.

January 5-29Seasons' Greetings, a play by

Alan Ayckbourn at Ruth NagleJones Theater, Wellesley College.Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. It'sChristmas in suburban London,and things couldn't be going lesswell for Belinda and Neville andtheir dysfunctional relatives. Thisblack comedy features furtivetrysts under the tree, a horrifyingpuppet show and a few madcapmistaken assumptions. Join us forthe holiday festivities as we laughat the darker side of family life.

January 9- March 12Star Wars: Jedi Training

(Ages 5 - 10) Mondays 4:45 - 5:45p.m. This weekly class will becentered on everything Star Wars!Some activities may include: de-signing and making a recycleddroid, light saber training, makinga Jedi Journal and MORE!!! Maythe force be with you. Instructor:Beth Meditz & Diane Dinell. Lo-cation: Warren Building Min: 8weeks. $165.

January 10Short Films Writing. 6:30 - 8

p.m. Instructor: ALB ProductionHouse. This class will get youready to launch your first filmscript. You’ll learn the basics,watch some great shorts, and havea lot of fun in the process. So, letyour inner writer come out andstart to frame your idea from thepage onto the screen. At the end ofthis class you will have a loglineand a synopsis to start you out thepath to writing your first originalscript. Please bring laptop or iPad.Location: Warren Building Min:5/Max: 18. 1 Class. $65

January 13-March 12Tai Chi for Seniors, Fri 2 – 3

p.m. Jan 13 - Mar 2. Instructor:

Josh Fink. Tai Chi is a state of re-laxation of both body and mind. Ifdone regularly, it can improvemuscle tone, flexibility, balance,and coordination. Many peoplefind it boosts their energy, stamina,and agility, sharpens their reflexes,and gives a sense of overall well-being. Location: Warren BuildingMin: 8/Max: 20. $50

January 17Martin luther King Jr. Day

Breakfast, 8:30-10 a.m. JoinWorld of Wellesley for their an-nual Martin Luther King DayBreakfast at Sun Life Financial, 1Sun Life Financial Executive Parkin Wellesley Hills. Featuredspeaker is Fayneese Miller, deanof the College of Education andSocial Services and professor ofHuman Development, Educa-tional Leadership and Social Pol-icy at the University of Vermont.Admission $25, Tix available atthe door.

January 21Why We Broke Up. Book

event at Wellesley Books, 82Central Street, 4 p.m. An excitingafternoon with author Daniel Han-

dler and artist Maria Kalman asthey share their new book foryoung adults, Why We Broke Up.Written as a letter from Min to herex-boyfriend, Ed, relating all thememories and reasons behind theirdoomed relationship through a se-ries of mementos, this book fol-lows the thrill and heartbreak ofyoung romance. There will be areading, Q&A, and signing.www.wellesleybooksmith.com.

January 21Free SaT practice test for high

school juniors, at Wellesley FreeLibrary, Wakelin room, 9:00 a.m.to 1:00 p.m. Free Kaplan Test Prepexam for High School Juniors.Space is limited-- reserve yourspot today: call 1-800-KAP-TESTor online at kaptest.com/prac-ticetest.

January 29Concert: Jazz pianist laszlo

Gardony at the Wellesley Free Li-brary, Wakelin Room, 2:00 p.m. to4:00 p.m. A winner of the GreatAmerican Jazz Piano Competi-tion, Mr. Gardony has releasedeight albums. He has been fea-tured with the Boston Pops, the

Utah Symphony and The Smith-sonian Institute’s Traveling DukeEllington Exhibit. He has beenpraised for his “fluid pianism” byThe New York Times, and Jaz-zTimes has called him 'one of con-temporary music's truly originalvoices.' Free and open to the pub-lic. Generously sponsored by theFriends of the Wellesley Free Li-braries.

January 29Super Hunger Brunch to ben-

efit The Greater Boston FoodBank at Blue Ginger, 781-283-5790. $50. Reservations atgbfb.org. Every January toprestaurants join together to helpend hunger by offering a deliciousbrunch to benefit The GreaterBoston Food Bank. Super HungerBrunch restaurants donate theirtime, food and services to offer adelicious brunch, with all proceedssupporting GBFB. An annual tra-dition for more than two decades,in the past three years alone, ourSuper Hunger Brunch has raisedover $181,000, which has pro-vided over 456,000 meals to thosein need! For additional informa-tion about Super Hunger Brunch,please contact Gail C. Favreau [email protected] or617.427.5200, ext. 5050.

January Calendar of Events

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BY DAVE HALPERIN

The sense of family that perme-ates the Fitness Club for Women isno accident: co-owners CherylSteele and Michele Shea are notjust work partners, they are sisterswho came together to run the busi-ness eight years ago, three yearsafter Shea first purchased the exer-cise complex.

"They say we're inseparable,"Shea explained recently from in-side their 200 Linden Street loca-tion. "We grew up in Woburn, andwe both live in Medford."

In search of a business partnerafter her husband bowed out of thewomen-only enterprise, Shea ap-proached her sister, and the timingwas right for Steele.

"I was done with the traveling..."Steele explained of her previousjob. "And it was a great blend forus."

Marketing background in tow,Steele joined forces with Shea,who brings experience in humanresources and accounting. Now thetwo sisters are a formidable one-

two punch, with Steele responsiblefor much of the front end, cus-tomer service and employee is-sues, and Shea focused more onback office functions like account-ing.

But the two aren't ones to splithairs over assigned duties.

"We're here, we're helping peo-ple," Shea says. "We're plungingthe toilets. We'll do whatever ittakes to make it work."

Viewers of the Style Network'sreality show Wicked Fit may rec-ognize Steele and Shea, whosegym is sometimes featured oppo-site the gym owned by their former

employee, Katy Boyd. Steele andShea say Boyd misrepresents theirrelationship; for example, in a re-cent article in this paper, Boyd isquoted as saying that her for-mer employers let her go dur-ing a "restructuring."

The truth, they say, is thatBoyd was fired due to a lackof professionalism and poorperformance, among otherissues.

Nevertheless, misrepresen-tations aside, Steele and Sheahave a foundation of expert-ise and customer care to fallback on. Members appreciatethe diverse offerings at theFitness Club for Women, in-cluding personal training,state of the art equipment,nutritional counseling, bootcamp, and a wealth of classesranging from yoga to dance tospinning to Capoeira, a Brazilianmartial art.

"Being all women, we're like acommunity here," Shea says, not-ing the programming for youngkids, older adults, and hardcore

athletes alike. "The little kids, theygrow up here, what we have is likea family here."

"We have young to old, everyage and every physical ability,"Steele adds, relating the story of a70 year old member who is in suchgood shape that she was able to

overcome a knee injury that herdoctor didn't think was possible fora woman her age. "[The doctor]told us she had the bones of a

younger person."

And then there's the memberwho joined after her husbandpassed away and, with the help ofthe Fitness Club for Women, hasfound a new social life.

"There's a big social part," saysSteel. "We're the only gym inWellesley with a program forseniors, and after she lost herhusband, she was wondering,'How am I going to survive?' andnow she's going out for coffeewith people after class."

As these sisters say, it's allabout health, and healthy atti-tudes. Steele recalls losingweight and feeling better afterjoining Shea at the fitness center,while Shea explains that it's all apart of the environment at theclub: "It's great because you canhave conversations with yourmembers, and everyone's learn-ing from each other... And if you

have that energy with each other,there's no need for jealousy andbitterness. Everyone's always shar-ing with each other."

"Now I don't even know what itfeels like to have aches and pains,"she says, adding, "Sometimes Idon't want to go on vacation. I feellike I'm going to miss out."

Michele Shea (left) and CherylSteele during the Celebrities forCharity event to benefit the fightagainst breast cancer, filmed forone of the Wicked Fit episodes.

An alert citizen who witnessed asuspect stealing phones from a storein Framingham was instrumental intheir subsequent capture.

The incident started on Route 9 inFramingham at the T-Mobile storeon Tuesday, December 13 prior to8:00 PM. A witness, who had beento out to dinner with relatives in thearea, was in the parking lot of the T-Mobile store about to leave. Thewitness observed a male acting sus-piciously outside the store. The wit-ness watched the suspect suddenlyrun into the T-Mobile store, and re-move three smart phones, rippingthem from a security cable. Thesuspect then sprinted from the storeand into a waiting vehicle, whichwas driven by a female. The vehiclefled from the parking lot into Nat-ick.

The witness quickly phoned theNatick Police Department via 911.The witness was also able to followthe suspect discreetly onto Route 9east. Natick officers were unable tointercept the suspect vehicle, butNatick Police dispatchers notifiedWellesley Police dispatchersMatthew Hammer and Matthew

McLaughlin of the situation. Dis-patchers Hammer and McLaughlinquickly broadcast a description ofthe vehicle to Officer Nate Derby,Officer Ron Poirier, and SergeantScott Showstead. The witness con-tinued to follow the vehicle, provid-ing a license plate number,description of the vehicle, and a de-scription of the suspects.

Officer Nate Derby located the ve-hicle on Route 9 near OaklandStreet, and pulled it over near CedarStreet. During the initial contactwith the two occupants of the sus-pect vehicle, one suspect quicklyvolunteered to Officer Poirier thathe had just stolen cell phones, andalso knew of an arrest warrant thatwas out for him.

Officers located the three stolen4G phones inside the car. SergeantShowstead worked with the Fram-ingham Police Department, who re-sponded to the T-Mobile store andconfirmed that the theft had takenplace. The suspects were then takeninto custody. Arrested at the scenewere Raheem McCoy from DeverStreet in Boston, and UniquaWilliams from Jette Court in

Brighton. McCoy and Williamswere charged with receiving stolenproperty over $250. McCoy willface an additional charge due to hisoutstanding arrest warrant from theNewton District Court. Both willappear in Dedham District Court onWednesday, December 14, 2011 forarraignment.

Thanks to the quick thinking of agood citizen, $1500 worth of stolenphones were recovered within min-utes of the crime.

In other Wellesley Police news,detectives are investigating a resi-dential break in on Wellesley Avethat was reported on Monday, De-cember 12. A resident returnedhome in the late afternoon, to findseveral items had been removed,and indications that a bedroom hadbeen gone through. During thecourse of the investigation, Welles-ley Police officers and detectivesdetermined that an unlocked slidingdoor was the probable point of entryfor the break in.

A preliminary investigation hasrevealed that the break in occurredprior to noon on Monday. This caseis under investigation.

Cell Phone Thieves ArrestedTeam Effort by Wellesley, Natick Police and One Alert Citizen

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Fundraiser RaisesMoney for ‘Glamour Project’

BY RENEE REYNOLDS

On December 6, Wellesley Serv-ice League member Carleen Baerhosted a fundraiser at Sara Camp-bell to benefit the Glamour Proj-ect, a nonprofit organizationdedicated to improving the lives ofdisadvantaged women throughmakeovers.

The Glamour Project, whichwas founded by Kara Fox andEvvy Shapero, began in the LosAngeles area as a volunteer effort.Fox and Shapero would go tohomeless shelters and volunteertheir time making over women viamake-up application and fashionstyling, thereby helping them re-claim their confidence and senseof beauty.

Recently, Wellesley residentMarilyn Feldman joined the proj-ect, expanding it to the Bostonarea. With Feldman’s help, theGlamour Project has partneredwith the Family Nurturing Centerof Boston, giving the project a501(c )(3) non-profit status.

Baer, who had read about theGlamour Project a few monthsback, attended a Wellesley ServiceLeague fundraiser and won anauction item that included hostinga party for friends at Sara Camp-bell. Baer called Feldman andasked if she would like her to hosta fundraiser for the Glamour Proj-ect.

“She was thrilled,” said Baer.

The fundraiser included freecolor consultations from KimLong, a fashion consultant, forthose who were interested inknowing what colors work best in

their wardrobe. Ten percent ofsales from the evening benefitedthe Glamour Project. Thefundraiser raised $775, accordingto Stephanie Millon, marketing di-rector at Sara Campbell.

According to Feldman, allmoney raised goes directly intotheir budget, as everyone involvedwith the Glamour Project worksas a volunteer.

“Our money goes into materialto make hats, buy new hats, morejewelry, new fabric and makeup,”said Feldman. “We also use it forstationary and postage for out-reach and fundraising.”

Feldman says reaching out toshelters is how they determinewhich facilities would like them tocome in.

“Women from the shelters signup and no one is turned away,” shesaid. “We do as many as we pos-sibly can in a day. If there are toomany, we work on a first come,first served basis.”

Recently, makeover recipientswere chosen based on letters writ-ten by students in a Dorchesterschool.

At the end of the day, womenwho are made over receive an 8 x10 photograph and, Feldmanhopes, a newfound sense of con-fidence.

“We hope they get a sense ofwho they once were and who theywould like to be,” she said. “Wehope they become optimistic andhopeful that this is just a situationthey are in rather than a permanentarrangement.”

Wellesley Service League Member Liz Harrington, Marilyn Fedlman's hus-band Elliot Feldman, and Carleen Baer at the Glamour Project fundraiserat Sara Campbell.

Winter 2011-2012 FREE Bereavement Groups

and WorkshopsPre-registration is required to

participate in any event. ContactLiz Mearkle-Cumming, LPC,ATR at 781-373-6570. All groupsare open to the public. No priorhospice experience is necessary.All groups are held at Hospice ofthe North Shore & GreaterBoston’s Office at 70 WalnutStreet, Suite 301, Wellesley.

WORKSHOPS*Newly Bereaved (For losses 1-

3 months) -- 70 Walnut Street,Suite 301, Wellesley, MA

Has someone close to you re-cently died? Are you looking forothers who understand? If so, thisone time workshop may be a won-derful way for you to find not onlysupport, but also information ongrief and loss and about supportivelocal resources.

This workshop is held on the 2ndTuesday of the month from 6-8pm in Wellesley, MA starting on

1/10/12.

*A Photography Workshop forMourners - 70 Walnut Street, Suite301, Wellesley, MA

This 5 week workshop will pro-vide participants an opportunity tolearn photography and its thera-peutic elements in life and loss.Participants will be provided theopportunity to experience the per-sonal process of photography aswell as photography as an art.

The workshop will be facilitatedby a visiting photographer, SarahSchoor, who received a grant fromthe Danish Research Council topursue research on uses of photog-raphy in a hospice setting.

The workshop will be co-facili-tated by a Bereavement Counselorand Registered Art Therapist.Workshop fee for 5-week programis $50.

Mondays, 1/9 – 2/6 (Snow date2/7)- 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

8 WEEK SUPPORT GROUPS*Grieving Loss in a Jewish Way

- 70 Walnut Street, Suite 301,Wellesley, MA

This 8-week support group forpeople who want to explore theirgrief from the perspective of beingJewish, learning coping skills andan understanding of loss as it re-lates to being a Jew.

The group will be held on Thurs-days from 1/26 through 3/22/12,skipping 2/23, from 6:30-8:00 pmin Wellesley, MA. Snow date on3/29/12.

*Loss of a Parent Group - 70Walnut Street, Suite 301, Welles-ley, MA

This 8-week support group isopen to any adult that has recentlylost one or both parents or a dearparental guardian. The group willbe held on Mondays from 2/20through 4/9/12 from 6-7:30 pm.Snow date on Thursday 4/19/12.

Space is limited for all events- Socall today! Please visit our websitefor more group and workshop op-portunities at www.hnsgb.org.

Bertolon Center For Grief & Healing


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On December 19, Wellesley Po-lice Chief Terry Cunningham andOfficer Nate Derby presented aWellesley Police Department Citi-zen Commendation to 19 year oldDanielle Caouette of Natick.Danielle witnessed a suspect steal

over $1500 worth of smart phonesfrom a T-Mobile store in Framing-ham last week as she was leavingdinner with her parents. ChiefCunningham and Officer Derbypresent the commendation.

Danielle promptly dialed 911,and then discreetly followed thesuspect as he fled on Route 9through Natick and into Wellesley.Once into Wellesley, Officer NateDerby was able to stop the sus-pect's vehicle. Two people were

placed under arrest for the theft atthe scene and the property was re-covered. Danielle's outstanding ef-forts were officially recognized byChief Cunningham. Danielle wasdirectly responsible for the captureof the suspects.

Citizen Commendation Given by Police

BY DAVE HALPERIN

The Audit Committee presentedtheir annual review of the audit tothe Board of Selectmen on De-cember 12, and while the newswas not all good, Audit Committeemembers and Selectmen believethere is a light at the end of the tun-nel.

Town-wide there were no signif-icant concerns to report; however,issues emanating from the SchoolBusiness Management Office ledAudit Committee Chair RustyKellogg to tell Selectmen of "sig-nificant deficiencies or materialweaknesses" and recommend thecreation of a new position on theschool side: a chief financial offi-cer.

"Our schools are a $65-70 mil-lion operation, and I think theyneed some more staffing..." Kel-

logg said. "Compared to ... otherschool business offices in similartowns, their budget is lower, andperhaps we could put more re-sources into it, and we've madethat suggestion" to the SchoolCommittee.

The recommendation comes atthe heels of recent failures of theschool business office to handlecollection of school lunch debtowed by families, and to accu-rately report and manage funds re-lated to school activities that cangenerate income, such as athleticsand performing arts.

"...this was an issue of staffingand supervision, that the supervi-sion in the school business officewas really all concentrated in theschool business manager... andwas [that person] was responsiblefor the great majority of work that

was done... [without] an adequatedelegation of responsibilities andsegregation of duties," Kelloggtold Selectmen.

The audit figures and recommen-dations compiled by the AuditCommittee were the result of theefforts of the town's privately con-tracted auditors, Powers and Sulli-van, in coordination with the AuditCommittee and the town's own Di-rector of Finance, Sheryl Struther,among others.

Following the CFO recommen-dation, Kellogg told the Board thatthe schools also struggle with rev-enue-generating accounts. The re-ceipts generated by certain studentactivities were not being "observedand monitored as they flowedthrough financial statements," Kel-logg said, explaining that "the con-cern is that the internal controlswere lacking in that there wasn't areconciliation at the departmentlevel."

"The best example of that controlproblem... was [that] not actuallybilling for school lunches startedto build in September and by Sep-tember and October the revenueswere falling behind, but the issuedidn't come to light until March,"Kellogg continued. "If the obser-vation and monitoring [was in

place] it would have been found ata much earlier time."

Such lack of internal controls andmonitoring led the School Com-mittee to call in the MassachusettsAssociation of School BusinessOffices (MASBO) in order to pro-duce recommendations for im-provement; Michael Nelligan ofPowers and Sullivan predictedMASBO would recommend thatforms and processes used by allthe various revenue generating ac-tivities and programs be standard-ized.

"I wouldn't be surprised ifMASBO comes back and recom-mends standardization as one oftheir main areas of focus," Nelli-gan said.

As of Local Town Pages presstime in mid-December, no datehad been set for the start ofMASBO's consultation, althoughit was expected to begin thismonth.

Selectmen hope the continuinginvestigation into the school de-partment's woes is a chance for atown-wide gut check and reevalu-ation of roles.

"I view this as a wonderful op-portunity for the schools and thetown to take a hard look at the

function of the business office andto staff it in a different kind of wayand to have some changes thatwould be a benefit throughout thetown in terms of transparency andbudgets," said Selectman Kather-ine Babson.

Selectmen also expressed soli-darity with the schools. Chairmanof the Board of Selectmen BarbaraSearle said, "If we need to pullthem in to get through this, wewill. If the schools raise theirhands and say, 'we need help,' we'llgive it to them, because this is im-portant for the town of Wellesleyto get these issues resolved andmove forward."

Paul Baier, who launched theFacebook group Concerned Par-ents of Wellesley, said in a laterconversation that the chief finan-cial officer position has promisebut said more discussion is neededto see if getting better performanceout of existing positions, such asthrough a new superintendent, in-stead of creating a new position,would be just as effective - andmore cost effective.

Baier also expressed concernabout the time it will take to createand fill any new positions, suggest-ing a need for short term changesand planning as well.

School NewsAudit Committee: School Department Needs CFOGreater Oversight Would Help Alleviate Revenue Collection and Reporting Problems

Board of Selectmen Katherine Babson, Terri Tsagaris, Barbara Searle, Ellen Gibbs, and Owen Dugan prior to hearing the Audit Committee's year-end review.


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School NewsSponsored By

BY RENEE REYNOLDS

The search for a new superin-tendent has begun. On November29, the School Committee met andrevealed a tentative outline for thesearch, naming committee mem-ber KC Kato the point person ofthe search committee.

Superintendent Bella T. Wongwill be stepping down at the end ofthe school year, and the SchoolCommittee expressed their desireto have a new superintendent inplace by July 1, 2012.

Kato said she would be hiring aconsultant to help aid in the search.The consultant is expected to behired by mid-January, and the firstround of interviews will take placein March, Kato said.

The search comes during a turbu-lent time in the Wellesley schoolsystem. Last school year, the busi-ness office made public that morethan $100,000 in back lunch debtwas unpaid. Parents and formercafeteria workers have also raisedconcern about using the private

company, Chartwells, after severalBoard of Health violations werefound in the fall. Recent reportsalso indicate the middle school andhigh school cafeterias have beendealing with rodent problems sincelate summer.

Safety has also become a concernfor parents. In October, a middleschool custodian was arrested andcharged with stealing computersand other items from the schoolover the summer, raising questionsfrom parents about employeebackground checks.

Paul Baier, parent of an eighthgrader at the middle school, haslaunched a Facebook group called“Concerned Parents Of Wellesley”as a forum for parents to expresstheir concerns over issues withinthe school system. He says hehopes for transparency throughoutthe superintendent search process.

“I’d like to get a better under-standing of why these administra-tive lapses occurred, and why weshould have comfort that they willnot occur again [next year],” he

said.

Kato made clear that the majorityof the information regarding thesuperintendent search will be madeavailable to the public. The publicwill have a chance to comment onthe search in community forumsand online surveys, and take part infocus groups. While the prelimi-nary interviews will be held pri-vately due to open meeting laws,the final interviews will be con-ducted in public, Kato said. Thefinal decision will be made by theSchool Committee.

While Kato said the Massachu-setts Association of School Com-mittees predicts 62 vacancies forsuperintendents across the state,she hopes Wellesley’s reputationwill generate interest among can-didates.

Kato noted that while the com-mittee hopes to hire a new super-intendent by July 1, it is possiblethat an interim superintendent maybe hired if they do not find the rightcandidate by the time of Wong’sresignation.

Superintendent Search UnderwayKC Kato heading committee; goal is July 1

BY RENEE REYNOLDS

Former food service workerscame forward at the November 29School Committee meeting re-questing the school departmentdoes not renew their contract withChartwells at the end of the schoolyear.

“Chartwells has brought shameto the former food service workersand to the town of Wellesley,” saidWellesley resident Frannie Camp-bell, the former head cashier at thehigh school.

Campbell made the request thatthe school department ends theircontract and returns to an in-housecafeteria system during the citi-zens speak portion of the SchoolCommittee meeting, stating theirreputation is not up to par, and thatparents should be concerned aboutwho is feeding their children.

The decision to privatize wasmade after the business officemade public last school year thatmore than $100,000 in back lunchdebt was unpaid. School Com-mittee Chairman Suzy Littlefieldsaid the primary reasons for decid-ing to use a private company wereto save money and provide health-ier, “greener” options for students.

However, the Wellesley HealthDepartment noted “serious viola-tions” in the middle school cafete-ria at the beginning of the schoolyear, including a lack of sneezeguards, food being kept at unsafetemperatures, and a lack of properstaff supervision.

Virginia Bowditch, a parent who

also came forward during the citi-zen speak portion of the meeting,expressed her concerns over thehealth violations.

“I’ve had a food borne illnessand it was absolutely horrendous,”she said. “[Food borne illnessesare] even worse in children.”

Julianne Ivey, a board member ofthe non-partisan advocacy groupCommittee 21, stated her commit-tee supports the schools, but doesnot necessarily support all the de-cisions made by the School Com-mittee. In an attempt to combatthe lunch debt, students are nowrequired to have a plus balance intheir account, which Ivey says hasled to some students not eating oncertain days.

“There are some issues with[Chartwells] that need to be ad-dressed,” said Ivey. “If there is notenough money in the account,children are being denied food. Ithink there needs to be a back-upsystem in place.”

While no decision has beenmade as to whether or not theSchool Committee will decide torenew Chartwells contract at theend of the year, Littlefield admitsprivatizing has not been the easiesttransition.

“It was a difficult decision and ithas not been exactly in line withwhat we were looking for,” shesaid. “There is a one-year contractand we will be making a decisionabout whether or not to renew inthe next couple of months. It’sbeen a rough fall.”

End Chartwells Contract, Says FormerCafeteria Worker

Bates Elementary recently puttheir values to work in buildingthree six-foot tall letters out ofmostly recycled materials. The let-ters K, L, and B stand for theschool's core values of kindness,learning and leadership, and besteffort.

The structure, made of emptylaundry detergent containers andother materials salvaged from theRecycling and Disposal Facility,was built and positioned on thelawn in front of the school.

KLB Stands Tall at Bates

What: A discussion session forparents on recent administrativelapses with the Wellesley SchoolCommittee

When: Wed, January 4, 7-9 p.m.

Where: Wellesley Middle SchoolLibrary

Why: This is a two-hour sessionfor parents to gain more informa-tion about recent issues withinWellesley Public Schools admin-stration.

Moderator: TBD

Discussion Sessionwith School Committee

Derek Chalmers (left) and Karim Hamawy help with the nuts andbolts of KLB.

Bates students, parents, and facultybuilt these letters with recycled ma-terials.


School NewsSponsored By

Caroline Fahey and Stuart Con-nor Perry of Wellesley HighSchool are YoungArts HonorableMention Award Winners. Faheywas recognized in Photographyand Perry in Visual Arts. Chosenfrom more than 5,000 applicants innine disciplines in the visual, liter-ary and performing arts, they willreceive a monetary award and jointhe ranks of the 16,000 YoungArtsalumni, including such notables asmultimedia artist Doug Aitken; ac-tors Vanessa Williams, Raúl Es-parza, and Kerry Washington; andmusicians Nicki Minaj and ChrisYoung. YoungArts is the core pro-gram of the National Foundationfor Advancement in the Arts(NFAA).

Fahey and Connor Perry are twoof this year’s YoungArts 174 Hon-orable Mention Award Winners,selected in a blind adjudicationprocess from a pool representing

all 50 states and the District of Co-lumbia, as well as all U.S. territo-ries. There are a total of 597YoungArts winners in total, in-cluding 152 YoungArts Finalists.

“We are honored to recognize allof these fine young artists,” saidPaul T. Lehr, NFAA’s ExecutiveDirector. “They represent the nextgeneration of extraordinary artistictalent, and it is our hope that theirexperience with YoungArts willcompel them to pursue their pas-sions.”

YoungArts is the only organiza-tion in the nation to recognize stu-dents in nine discipline categoriesof cinematic arts, dance, jazz,music, photography, theater, visualarts, voice and writing.

YoungArts is the core program ofthe National Foundation for Ad-vancement in the Arts (NFAA).The organization’s mission is to

identify emerging artists, pro-vide educational enrichmentand assistance in their pursuitof the arts, and to raise the ap-preciation for and support ofthe arts in American society.Dedicated to inspiring andnurturing young artists,NFAA was founded in 1981by businessman and vision-ary, the late Ted Arison, andhis wife, Lin. The YoungArtsprogram identifies the nextgeneration of emergingartists and contributes to thecultural vitality of the nationby investing in the artistic de-velopment of thousands ofgifted artists in nine disci-plines in the performing, lit-erary and visual arts. At therequest of The Commission onPresidential Scholars, which is ap-pointed by the President of theUnited States, NFAA serves as the

exclusive nominating agency forthe U.S. Presidential Scholars inthe Arts.

The YoungArts program has

honored over 16,000 youngartists with more than $6 mil-lion in monetary awards andnearly $84 million in collegescholarship opportunities.Alumni go on to become lead-ing professionals in their fields.Alumni include actressesVanessa Williams and KerryWashington, four-time TonyAward nominee Raúl Esparza,Executive Director of Ameri-can Ballet Theatre RachelMoore, recording artists NickiMinaj and Chris Young, musi-cian Jennifer Koh, choreogra-pher Desmond Richardson,and internationally acclaimedmultimedia artist Doug Aitken.

For more information aboutYoungArts, visit www.youn-

garts.org. For a complete list of2012 Winners please visitwww.youngarts.org/2012-youn-garts-winners.

WHS senior intensive acting stu-dents recently directed 13 one-actplays as part of their Acting IVcourse, delighting audiences ofstudents, faculty, parents and townresidents. Pictured are photosfrom Block A plays.

YoungArts' 2012 Best Young Artists in the NationTwo WHS Students are Honorable Mention Winners

WellesleyHighSchool Senior Acting

Maica Pichler and Simone Tuffy's hilarious production of "Study Group,"featuring Rebecca Logue as Anne and James Wall as Bill, two studentswhose romance has broken up, and Samantha Derderian as Gertrude, anerdy MIT hopeful who plots to reunite them. Adam Walsh served as stagemanager.

Harry Cramer and Yara Farahmand's production of Trevor Suthers' comedy"Hi Santa, Remember Me?", featuring Brian Kelly as Frank, who finds Santa,played by Justin O'Brien, drinking alone in a tavern. Adam Walsh served asstage manager.

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BYMIKE STOLLER

The energy on the court is palpa-ble. At a preseason practice in De-cember, Wellesley boys’ basketballhead coach Glen Magpiong is run-ning the floor almost as fast hisplayers. He is stressing team of-fense and defense, or like his blackand red Raiders T-shirt says, “We-Fense.”

“We-Fense has to be our numberone focus,” he said.

Heading into the 2011-12 cam-paign, it was nearly impossible forMagpiong to know if his teamcould repeat as Bay State Confer-ence (BSC) Herget Divisionchampions.

“Can we repeat as Herget Cham-pions, I don’t know. Every team[in the conference] has gotten bet-ter,” Magpiong said. “We lost apretty solid senior group whoplayed a significant amount ofminutes for us.”

That group included leagueMVP guard Blake Dowling, fel-low BSC All-Stars Darren Johnson(First Team, forward) and AdamFarina (Honorable Mention, cen-ter), and solid frontcourt playersArmand Menegay and Matt Fa-rina. With all five graduated, Mag-piong would only be guessingabout his squad’s chances this sea-son, after the Raiders flew to thetop of the division with a remark-able 17-5 record last year, reachingthe quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed

in the Division 2 South sectionals.

But, one thing there’s no ques-tion about is the Raiders’ workethic. “I am so proud of how hardthese boys worked in the off-sea-son,” Magpiong said.

Though the Raiders return with awhopping eight seniors, Magpiongsaid he “would consider usyounger [than last year’s group]experience-wise.” But, since it’stheir last season on the high schoolparquet, the seniors are highly mo-tivated, according to the coach,wanting to put their own stamp onthe Wellesley program.

“They come in with the mindset,‘No regrets, hold nothing back,and play as if there is no tomor-

row,’”Magpiong said.

That mindset was evident duringtheir offseason preparation. Forstarters, guards Cooper Ainge andCedric White, who comprise twoof the three captains, were part ofa contingent led by Ainge’s olderbrother Austin, who “worked witha lot of these kids during the AAUseason and they are so much betterand ready to go,” Magpiong said.“Cooper and Cedric were our pri-mary ball handlers last year, andwe expect a lot from them thisyear.”

Magpiong said Ainge, whopoured in a team-high 18 points,including four three-pointers in aseason-opening loss to Milford onDec. 13, “is probably our best all-around defender and scorer,” and

White “is the most proficient atbreaking down his defender.”

The coach added, “We do nothave a lot of size and their play atthe guard position will be criticalin how we operate both offensivelyand defensively.”

Wellesley’s other captain, juniorforward Mack Jones, is also astrong defender, Magpiong said.“[He] will play on both theperimeter and in the post for us andbrings a strong work ethic on bothends of the floor.”

Jones tossed in five points, in-cluding a three, in the opener,played at Wellesley.

Other returning players includesenior guards Harry James, NickOsborn, and Reed Westerman, and

senior centers Avery Brooks andPaul Santangelo. Among the cast,James has the most varsity experi-ence, followed by Osborn andWesterman.

“James could be the best shooteron the team, Westerman is poten-tially our most efficient player, andOsborn is not only knocking downshots, but is also getting to therim,” Magpiong said. “[They]worked tirelessly in the offseasonon improving their game, and it re-ally shows.”

Brooks and Santangelo, mean-while, will pay important roles inthe post. The coach said Brooks isrecovering from a serious leginjury he suffered dur-ing baseball season,“yet was still aformidable forceduring tryouts,”while Santan-gelo, who hada successfulgolf campaignin the fall, figuresto be an asset with“his smart play andability to finish…”

Newcomers include senior centerConnor Darcey, junior guard MattLawrence, sophomore guardsCrew Ainge and Aidan James, andsophomore forward MalikRochelle. Though they are new tothe team, they “are not role play-ers,” Magpiong said. Darcey, infact, is new to basketball at thehigh school level, but “he reallyworked on his game over the falland it really showed in tryouts,”the coach said. “His athleticism,

toughness, and court sense are ab-solutely remarkable. His profile isexactly what we need as a pro-gram.”

Magpiong also lauded Lawrencefor his determination. “Matt cameto tryouts determined to make theteam and he did,” the coach said.“I am so proud of how hard [he]worked in the offseason, both onhis shooting and ball handling, butalso with his strength.”

Rochelle, Crew Ainge, andAidan James, are all first-time var-sity players, who all could see“significant minutes,” Magpiongsaid. “Crew and Aidan have played

at a pretty high level over thecourse of their AAU

seasons and as a re-sult, they do notplay [like] un-derclassmen.These guyscompete, havegame, and willdefinitely pushtheir team-

mates.”

Magpiong, mean-while, said Malik “is possi-

bly the quickest player on theteam, and combined with hisjumping ability, “he may give hisopponents fits.”

The coach summed up, “Wewon’t compare ourselves to lastyear’s team. This group came in onday one ready to go. If we continueto stay focused on getting bettereach and every day, I truly do be-lieve good things will happen.”

Wellesley Sports

Seeking a RepeatBoys’ B-Ball Wants Herget Again

Photos by Connie Main

BY PETER SHANLEY

Four years ago, Jesse Davis ar-rived at Wellesley High School tobecome the wrestling coach, andsince then, had never beaten BayState Conference rival Brookline.

All that changed in dramaticfashion on Tuesday, December 13.

Down 30-29, the Raiders sentheavyweight Jack Barry to the matto face Kasra Pourahimi in the lastmatch of the night. Pourahimimanaged an early takedown on ahip throw, garnering two points.But moments later, Barry reversedposition and pinned his opponent,notching the victory for Wellesley.

“Brookline is a good team,” saidDavis, whose team improved to 3-1 on the young season. “Theycame ready to wrestle. It was real

close all the way through. Jack gotin sort of a funky position with hiships, but was able to turn the kid atthe end. It was a great match.”

The Raiders initially found them-selves losing 18-6 after the War-riors swept the lighter divisions,save a forfeit at the 120-pound di-vision. Wellesley’s ClaytonKrueger then was tied 2-2 at the138-pound division when he re-versed Stephano Magny. Thatsparked nine straight points, earn-ing Krueger a majority win andclosing the team’s deficit to 18-10.

Dan Wilkins dominated at 145pounds, almost pinning WarriorAndres Crespo with a cradle, butwas unable to get both shouldersto touch the mat. Nonetheless,Wilkins accumulated a 9-0 advan-tage, leading to another majority

win for the Raiders.

Wellesley took the lead for thefirst time when the 152-poundJacob Mingolla buried a half-nel-son in on Edwin Marroquin andpinned him. The Raiders then aug-mented their lead to 23-18 as AJ

Grignaffini beat Sean Kalinin 9-6.Grignaffini took his opponentdown late in the third period to se-cure the victory.

The Warriors received a pin fromthe 170-pound Josef Shohet, cata-pulting themselves back on top 24-

23. That was short-lived, though,as Raider Will Dario implementedan arm-bar pin of Andres Marin atthe 182-pound division.

The 195-pound match camedown to the wire. Wellesley’sJared Melanson, who was losing4-0 early, came back and closedwithin one at 4-3 when he tookdown Jacob Simmons in the thirdperiod. But Melanson could notmanage to flip Simmons to earnany back points and lost.

Ramses Akemafula won the 220-pound match, 6-2, giving Brook-line the 30-29 lead before theaforementioned Barry triumph.

“We had the kids we expected towrestle well did wrestle well,” saidDavis. “But we did leave somepoints on the mat, so we havesome things to work on.”


Wellesley SportsRaider WrestlersOvercome Brookline

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Wellesley Sports

BYMIKE STOLLER

At the Boys' Basketballteam's season opener, theWellesley athletic departmenthonored former Wellesleyjunior varsity basketball coachPaul Seaver, who was diag-nosed with ALS last Februaryduring his first season with theRaiders, after coaching bas-ketball at Milford andFranklin for many years.Wellesley opened up the sea-son against Milford in order torecognize both Seaver and theCompassionate Care organi-zation, which raises funds tohelp support people with thedisease. The players fromboth teams wore Compas-sionate Care black t-shirtsduring warm-ups and thecoaches wore them through-out the night.

In another sentimental twistto the evening, Magpiongcalled to center court Welles-ley girls’ varsity basketballcaptain Caroline Harrington,who had just won an MIAAhonorable mention essayaward for her poem featuringSeaver on how student ath-letes can make an impact onthe community.

For more information aboutCompassionate Care, seeccals.org.

Playing for a Cause

Players paused during a ceremony recognizing JV Basketball Coach Paul Sever.

localtownpagesInvites you to welcome in 2012

with the first FREE Networking Event of the Year

at

Raffael’s, 1601 Main Street, WalpoleJanuary 18th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Refreshments and coffee will be served.

Pre-register by January 12th and you are entered to win a FREE ad in one of our 5 newspapers.

RSVP: [email protected]

We have over 57,000 readers and expect a large turnout.

Instructions For CandidatesFor Town Wide Office

1. The candidate must be a resi-dent of the Town, and for cer-tain offices a registered voter.Check the by-law if this is anissue.

2. The Candidate must personallyobtain Nomination papers fromthe Town Clerk. These formsare available 90 days prior tothe Annual Town Election, De-cember 1, 2011 for the 2012Annual Town Election. Thecandidate will supply name, ad-dress, phone, email and sign forthe papers. This information ispublic information.

3. Signatures of fifty voters regis-tered in the Town are required(any precinct), although it isrecommended that more be ob-tained.

4. The deadline to “take out papers” is January 20, 2012,

5:00 p.m.

5. Papers must be returned to theTown Clerk for certification nolater than 5:00 p.m. on January 24,2012.

6. Candidates for re-election forTown Wide offices must alsoobtain signatures, unlike TownMeeting Member candidates.

7. We request the use of youremail address for election re-lated messages and for TownMeeting communication if youare elected. This email is in-tended for the use of the TownClerk to notify candidates andTown Meeting Members ofevents or information of interestto them. The list is a publicrecord.

8. Elected candidates must besworn in by the Town Clerkprior to exercising their office.The Town Clerk will host a

group swearing in reception onthe evening of March 14, 2012for all town-wide office holdersat the Town Hall.

If the candidate intends to solicitfunds or spend money on the cam-paign a committee must be formedin advance and campaign financerequirements must be followed.Please request a handbook andforms or see state Office of Cam-paign and Political Finance web-site for further informationhttp://www.ocpf.net/guides/mun_office_2010.pdf

Town Meeting Members areelected annually at the March An-nual Town Election to staggeredthree year terms by precinct.In2011 the town new precinct lineswere drawn to create eightprecincts. In 2012 all 240 seatswill be elected, 30 for eachprecinct. The top 10 vote totals ineach precinct will be awarded 3year terms, the next 10 two yearterms and the last 10 one yearterms.

Incumbent Town Meeting mem-bers are required to file a letter stat-ing their intent to become acandidate for re-election 45 daysprior to the Annual Town Election.A form for this purpose is mailedto all incumbents in late Decem-ber. The return notice date for theMarch 2012 Annual Town Elec-

tion is January 31, 2012 5:00 p.m.

New Town Meeting Membercandidates must obtain nominationpapers. Papers are available fromthe Town Clerk beginning Decem-ber 1 2011.

Instructions For CandidatesFor Town Meeting

1. In order to be candidate forTown Meeting Member, onemust reside in the precinct fromwhich one desires to run.

2. Nomination papers must be ob-tained in person from the TownClerk’s Office beginning De-cember 1 2011 and ending Feb-ruary 3, 2012.

3. Ten signatures of registeredvoters from the precinct are re-quired.

4. It is recommended that eachcandidate obtain more than theminimum of ten signatures inthe event that any of the signa-tures cannot be certified.

5. The nomination papers must bereturned to the Board of Regis-trars (Town Clerk’s Office) forcertification no later than 5:00p.m. February 7, 2012.

6. Drawing of names for positionon the ballot will be on Febru-ary 8, 2012 at 10:00 am at TownHall. Candidates are welcometo observe but rarely attend.

7. Any current Town MeetingMember who is running for re-election need only completeand return the notice of intentto run by January 31, 2012.

8. There are no campaign financereporting requirements forTown Meeting Candidates.

9. We request the use of youremail address for election re-lated messages and for TownMeeting communication if youare elected. This email is in-tended for the use of the TownClerk to notify candidates andTown Meeting Members ofevents or information of interestto them. The list is a publicrecord.

10. The Election is March 13,2012. Polls open 7 am – 8 pm.

11. Town Meeting is currently ex-pected to begin the last Mon-day of March and continueweekly until the business iscompleted.

12. Elected Candidates will be in-vited to attend an orientationmeeting with the Moderator,usually the week prior to thebeginning of Town Meeting.

13. Elected candidates will besworn into office at the firstnight of the Annual TownMeeting.

With snow in the forecast, it ishard not to think about the upcom-ing winter and all the fun activitiesthat come with it. This winter theWellesley Recreation Departmenthas a variety of programs and tripsthat can please any child.

Our winter classes will kick offwith our 33rd annual ElementarySchool and Middle School skitrips. Every Wednesday in Janu-ary, 3rd – 5th graders will board abus and venture to Nashoba ValleySki area to take a lesson and havesome free time to ski before head-ing back to Wellesley. In additionwe have a Middle School Ski pro-gram that heads to Nashoba everyFriday in January allowing middleschoolers to start their weekendsby enjoying some night skiing.These annual ski programs havehelped introduce Wellesley youthto the joy of skiing or snowboard-ing. Participants have said howmuch they have enjoyed skiing

with their friends. Even Recre-ation Program Administrator, TimKennedy, went on the trips whenhe was growing up in town.

If flying down a mountain is notyour speed then try our cross coun-try skiing program which is meantfor any ability and almost any age.We offer a Wednesday cross coun-try skiing program for 6-10yr oldsand a 3 day February vacation pro-gram for 6-16 yr olds.

If skiing is not your forte then besure to sign up for one of our skat-ing lessons. Lessons are run byBay State Blades and they are heldat the Chase arena in Natick. Besure to practice all of your startingand stopping in time for the newoutdoor community ice rink whichwill be located on Hunnewell field.Check out our website for up todate information on the rink and besure to cross your fingers for somecold weather and snow so that wecan start building the rink.

In addition to our skiing andskating programs the WellesleyRecreation Department has manymore offerings. The WellesleyRecreation Department prides it-self in offering “Something forEveryone”! Would your child pre-fer a science or robotics class?

Then sign them up for our StarWars: Jedi Training class or Ro-botics 1 class. Looking to keepyour child active no matter whatthe weather is like outside? Everychild goes home exhausted with asmile on their face after spendingan hour with Joe Roberts and hisstaff and their Terriers DodgeballLeague. We also offer a variety ofbasketball, multi sport, indoor ten-nis, and baton twirling classes tokeep children entertained and en-gaged.

Don’t worry, because in additionto all of these elementary and highschool programs we also offer anassortment of classes for pre-schoolers. Everything from teach-ing your baby sign language toRockin’ Tot Music to Puddlestom-pers outdoor adventures, everychild will be a “happy camper”.

We haven’t forgotten about theadults either…

Aside from our old standbys ofaerobics and yoga programs, weare offering some great one & twonight workshops. Get your homeorganized after the Holidays with“Secrets of a Professional Organ-izer.” Or learn to use some of thenew gifts you got thisseason: Take a cooking class withyour teen on February 6 & 13 orlearn how to use your iPad on Jan-uary 12th. Get back to your pre-holiday shape and take a newBrazilian martial arts program:Capoiera or Zumba, a Latin in-spired fitness program. Finally, forall ages, we have Indoor Walkingat the Warren Building, you maywalk during our office hours Mon-day - Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. orgo to our website www.welles-leyma.gov/recreation and checkour Open Gym schedule to do lapsin the gym. Stop by the office andwe’ll give you information for lapsand mileage.


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Town Of Wellesley Local Election Calendar For 2012

It seems like the snow from lastwinter finally finished meltingonly a couple of months ago, buthere we are heading into anotherlong, cold stretch of New Englandweather.

While last winter's sudden surgeof blizzards, one after another,seemed like a unique event, it’s notunprecedented, so it’s alwayssmart to be prepared. Here are afew things you can do to ensureyou’ll be ready when Old ManWinter decides to blanket our areawith snow, ice, and frigid weatheragain this year.

Make sure your gutters arecleaned at least once, and some-times several times a year depend-ing on the amount and types oftrees near your home. Pine treestend to shed needles year round, soa spring and fall cleaning is impor-tant. Deciduous trees also drop de-bris seasonally, so sometimes aspring cleaning is in order. But ofcourse the most important time isearly November, when most of theleaves come down. Gutters freeand clear of debris are essential inthe winter, when there is constantmelting of ice and snow. It’s im-portant for the water to be able toflow freely through the gutters anddownspouts and away from your

home.

Have a plan for snow removal,not just from the driveway, butfrom the roof as well. It’s not oftenthat snow builds up so fast that itcauses problems, but it can happenand you should be ready.

Last year, in addition to severeice dams on almost every house,the snow built up so quickly thatweight became an issue for somehomes. While the building codeshave become more strict in termsof how much weight a roof canhold, measured in pounds persquare foot, there were manyhomes that were at the limit lastyear. Make sure you have a snowrake at the ready as they can behard to find after a snow storm.

After a signifigant storm, it’s agood idea to remove snow fromthe lower few feet of your roof andkeep gutters clear BEFORE icedams start to form. While notevery home needs this done, manyare susceptible to severe ice damsand leaks, and staying ahead of theproblem is critical. Once you dohave ice dams and gutters frozensolid with ice, it’s very difficult toremove them and being overly ag-gressive with axes or hammers cancause more harm than good.Many contractors offer routinesnow removal, similar to drivewayplowing, so if you are not up to thetask of keeping up with the snow,find a reliable company that willcomplete this work for you auto-matically after any heavy snowfall.

In addition to roof snow removal,make sure you have a plan in placefor the driveway and sidewalks.Whether you hire somebody forthis, or do it yourself, don’t waituntil the last minute to make sureyou are prepared. Check yourshovels and snow blower, make

sure your snow removal companyhas you on their list, and stock upon salt, sand, or ice melt ahead oftime.

Also on the home checklist:Turn off all the exterior waterfaucets to prevent freezing whileremoving, draining, and storing allthe hoses. Make a note of whereany exterior vents are that arelower than five feet and keep aneye on them as snow builds up. Itis critical to ensure any dryer ventsor other exhaust vents are neverblocked by snow. If you haven’talready done so, make sure youhave your heating system in-spected, cleaned, and servicedevery fall. If you use a fireplace orwood stove, don’t forget to contacta chimney sweep to ensure there isno dangerous build up inside thechimney. In case there is a fire orblocked vent, it is extremely im-portant to have smoke and carbonmonoxide detectors. Check themevery year to make sure they areworking correctly and change allthe batteries.

If there is a winter emergency,such as a major blizzard and a longpower outage, you should have anemergency check list and haveseveral items on hand. Flash lightsand batteries are a good start, butthere’s more. Many homes rely onelectricity for water, so if thepower is out it’s a good idea to

have at least a few gallons of freshwater. Also, keep the pantrystocked with non-perishable foodthat is easily prepared withoutpower, especially if you have anelectric stove. Keeping year roundaccess to your gas grill can be a bighelp in the event of a multi-daypower outage.

Having an action plan to followshould there be a weather emer-gency is a must. What happens ifschool is cancelled? Who will carefor the children during the day?Will your employer allow you tostay home, and if not, have youarranged for child care? Keep alist of important phone numberstaped inside one of the kitchencabinet doors. Make sure it in-cludes family, friends, neighbors,utility companies, and importantvendors such as your plumber,contractor, and heating serviceprovider.

Don’t forget to make sure yourvehicle is ready for winter too. Ifthe battery is more than 5 yearsold, you may want to replace it.Make sure your car has a freshtune-up before winter, check theantifreeze level, oil, and make sure

the tires are in good shape withplenty of tread left. Keep an emer-gency kit in the car, and keeping awarm hat and a pair of gloves inthe trunk or glove compartment isnever a bad idea.

And finally, one of the most im-portant things during the winterseason - be a good neighbor.Know who the elderly people arein your neighborhood, and helpthem with snow removal. Manycannot afford to hire somebody forthis task, and it is very dangerousfor them to handle it on their own.In addition, it can be very hard forthem to make it to the store duringthe winter with snow and iceeverywhere, so check on themoften and make sure they knowthey can call you.

With a little preparation and plan-ning, winter in New England canbe an exciting time and no realtrouble at all. However, if you failto plan you’ll be wishing you hadmigrated to a warm and sunnyplace.

if there is anything else i can

do just let me know!

Doug MastersMasters TouchPO Box 171

Medfield, MA 02052508-359-5900 ext. 201Fax 508-359-4042


Doug Masters, owner of Masters Touch

Be Prepared For Winter

508-596-2600 • www.Skylimo.com

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Wellesley January 2012