The Swellesley Report

A Wellesley woman named Sue O’Neil has started a business called LuvYourHat.com to help raise money for pancreatic cancer research in tribute to the memory of her late husband Tom, who died from the disease in 2006. Net proceeds from hat sales will go to The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The hats, priced between $25 and $47, can be purchased online and will soon be available at golf pro shops and other retailers, according to the LuvYourHat.com web site.

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Classic quote from a classic car guy from Wellesley. From a Dover-Sherborn Press piece on the Elm Bank Antique Car show over the weekend, a quote from Corvette owner Kenny MacDonald:

“This is my antique time machine,” said the Wellesley resident. “When I’m driving this, I’m 19 and all the women want me.”

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Wellesley’s Chris Tierney made his Major League Soccer debut over the weekend with the New England Revolution, subbing in during the 77th minute in the team’s 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. Tierney earlier played soccer for Noble & Greenough and the University of Virginia.

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Latest on high school project funding

The state’s School Building Authority has asked Wellesley to consider another option for the high school building project that could cost less than the one recently approved by the town. Wellesley’s School Bulding Committee writes in its latest newsletter that it believes the new option would involve renovating the 1938 building and addition of a 4-story building for classes and a science lab, among other things.

Meanwhile, the Globe recaps the state’s new get-tough policy regarding school building costs, highlighting Wellesley’s effort. Not much new in here but if you’re looking to catch up on the issue, worth a read. In the piece, state treasurer Tim Cahill rejects the notion that the $159 million price tag for the project is deceiving. “You can’t just separate out certain aspects. We’re paying for the foundation and the envelope to the building,” he said. He later added, “Just because you have the money doesn’t mean you should be allowed to do it. One community should not be able to provide better opportunities for kids versus another community just because they have the money.”

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You’ve got your chance to be heard regarding the plan for reconstruction on Weston Road until June 30. The project is designed to increase pedestrian and driver safety, improve dropoff/pickup at Hardy School and more. The construction itself, which involves the area between Linden St. and Rte. 9, isn’t supposed to kick off until May and wrap up until the end of 2009/beginning of 2010. Here’s a link to the “25% Conceptual Plans,” which includes lots of maps, images and cool phrases like “undergrounding strategy” and “signalization approach.” More here from Board of Selectman Chair Greg Mills.

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A 52-year-old Wellesley woman was in critical but stable condition after being involved in a fiery car crash that killed a 79-year-old Newton man at Coolidge Corner in Brookline. More details.

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Wellesley public schools alum Elizabeth Geisinger (now a Bucknell student) is offering tennis lessons to kids at Wellesley Middle School’s courts June 23-Aug 15, Monday-Friday. Cost is $12 for per player in groups of 3 or more per hour; private lessons cost $15 per half hour, $25 per hour; semi-private is $10 per half hour, $16 per hour. More info.

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A new home at 51 Avon Rd. is being built to the latest “green” standards, featuring solar heat and hot water, and is getting a starring role on a new TV show on Discovery Channel’s Planet Green network called “Renovation Nation.” The episode is slated to run in August. See the Townsman’s report here.

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Nine Wellesley youth athletes, who all attend Wellesley High School, participated in the 2008 US Rowing Youth National Championships at Harsha Lake in Batavia, Ohio, June 13-15. The rowers train on the Charles River and compete for Community Rowing.

Rowing in the lightweight women’s eight, which placed second in the competition securing the silver medal, were Anne Carroll, Caroline Ciocca, Kitty Higgins and Faith Richardson. The women’s eight, which included rowers Priscilla Livingston and Kelley Woodacre, finished the competition with a fifth place national rank. Jonathan McGraw Bentley and Chris Massey represented CRI in the men’s four and finished 7th in their competition. Racing to 10th place in the country in the men’s lightweight four was Christian Van Dyck. These rowers all qualified for the National Championships by racing to the top three finishes in their respective regional competitions last month at the Olympic training site on Lake Mercer in Princeton, NJ.

Pictured: (Back Row, l-r) Priscilla Livingston, Christian Van Dyck, Jonathan McGraw Bentley, Chris Massey and Kelley Woodacre. (Front Row, l-r) Kitty Higgins, Caroline Ciocca, Faith Richardson and Anne Carroll.

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Wellesley’s Jonathan Lake has 20/20 vision as far as he knows, but earlier this month he got a small taste of what it’s like to be blind by taking part in the Vision 5K road race in Boston.

A unique aspect of the race is that sighted runners are invited to take the “Blindfold Challenge” by strapping on a blindfold and covering the 3.1-mile course alongside a sighted guide. Lake, who generally runs a speedy 6-minute pace on 5K courses, ran the Vision 5K at a very respectable 7-minute pace — plenty fast enough to win the challenge with partner Paul Chaplin. Lake was running the Vision 5K for the first time and found it enjoyable, though nerve-wracking. “I ran over one cone but thankfully did not fall,” he writes “The sound of cars while running is VERY scary and they sound really close even though I was promised there were far off.”

Lake, who has lived in Wellesley for about a year and is a VP at family construction company Lake Contracting, says the race raised money and awareness for a good cause. He notes that his family’s business has worked at the Perkins School for the Blind for 20-plus years, so he grew up well aware of the challenges those with visual impairment face. Lake Contracting donated $5K through the race.

The day before the race Lake had a chance to guide for Moises Beristain, an elite runner from Mexico who is almost totally blind. They ran 5 miles through the Cliff Estates section of Wellesley and it proved to be a good tune-up, as Beristain won the visually impaired competition by running a 5:15 per mile pace. “He and the other visually impaired runners are the real heroes here,” Lake says.

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