The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley High hosts Massachusetts Fallen Heroes tour

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Massachusetts Fallen Heroes will be bringing its annual statewide educational initiative to Wellesley High School on Thursday at 10am, sharing stories with students of the ultimate sacrifices made by those from Massachusetts  who served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Wellesley visit, which will emphasize the importance of Memorial Day, is part of a 10-day series of events honoring local veterans and families of those killed in combat. The organization was started in 2010 by firefighters, police officers, veterans, Gold Star families and others.

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Burn, baby, burn in Wellesley

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Once again, with the blessing of the Wellesley Fire Department and the Massachusetts Board of Fire Prevention, I collected a couple of helpers and set a corner of my yard afire. Without the almost pagan ritual of our annual burn, I just don’t know what I would do with that pile of thorny rose vines, tree branches, my old Palm Sunday palms, the Christmas tree, hedge clippings, and other woody debris that I’ve collected throughout the year. There’s the RDF yard waste area, of course, but I always seem to collect more yard waste on a weekly basis than I can cram into my car next to the recycling and the trash.

It’s easy to get an Open Air Burning Permit in Wellesley. You just have to follow a few common-sense rules. The Wellesley Fire Department requires that a garden hose be available at the site of the burning. Nobody wants to see the peony beds go up in flames accidentally, or worse yet, the woods.

 

Items allowed for burning are brush, cane, driftwood and forestry debris. No hay, leaves or stumps may be burned. The burn must be at a location greater than 75 feet from any dwelling. This rule is probably the most challenging for Wellesley residents, given the close proximity of homes to one another in many neighborhoods.

 

Permission to burn must be obtained each day that you wish to burn. Weather conditions are taken into consideration when determining if burning will be allowed each day, and burn hours are between 10am and 4pm.

 

That’s all there is to it. You sign your agreement to the rules, which must be done at the Wellesley fire station at 457 Worcester St., and you’re given a number. On the day you want to burn, you call the Fire Department, identify yourself by your permit number, and you will receive permission, or not. The OK is not a given. There are a few weather particulars that can stand in your way. If the cloud cover is too low, you’ll get a no. If it’s windy, it’s a big no. If it’s been dry lately, that’s another no. I really cut it close this year, doing my burn on the last possible day.

 

When the conditions are right, and the labor is willing, there’s nothing to match a good old-fashioned backyard burn. Here are my helpers, keeping in constant attendance, per regulations. They’ve just thrown on the Christmas tree. Once you’ve seen a Christmas tree go up in flames in your backyard, you’ll wonder why you ever had that potential fireball in your home.

 

If I tend my burn properly, I’m not left with a pile of ash to dispose of. It’s a matter of spreading the debris out with an iron rake as I go. Photo credit (accusation?), Bob Brown.

 

That’s that. The grass seed has been set out and in another month, God willin and the river don’t rise, this unsightly patch will be green again.

 

We aren’t the only pyromaniacs in town. According to a fire department representative, this year 37 households in town applied for a permit and 47 requests to burn were granted. 

 

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Heroic construction worker rescues dog from icy Charles River in Wellesley

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dog charles river rescue
Leika is safe after being rescued from the icy Charles River by a quick-acting construction worker. Photo credit: Wellesley Police

 

A dog named Leika was rescued by a construction worker after the pooch fell through thin ice on the Charles River near Route 9/Route 128.

The dog, let loose by its owner, went into the Charles from the Needham side of the river, according to Wellesley Police. The owner, from Newton, fell into the river too while trying to rescue the dog, but the owner was able to get back to the shoreline.  A nearby construction worker went in after the dog from the Wellesley side and got her out. The Wellesley Police and Fire Departments, the Newton Police and Fire Departments, and the State Police all responded to the incident.

The construction worker was taken to Newton-Wellesley Hospital as a precaution.

Wellesley has seen numerous dog rescue attempts along the Charles in recent years (Deja vu: Wellesley Fire, Police departments rescue another dog from the icy Charles River and Wellesley firefighters, police save dog from icy Charles River)

 

Photo credit: Wellesley Police

 

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Why flags are flying at half-staff in Wellesley

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U.S. and POW-MIA flags at half-staff in front of Wellesley town hall

 

If you’re wondering why flags have been lowered to half-staff in Wellesley today, Wednesday March 22, it’s to honor Joseph Toscano of the Watertown Fire Department, who died in the line of duty last week. The father of five had lived in Randolph.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker ordered that the United States flag and the Commonwealth flag be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings from sunrise to sunset.

#flags 🇺🇸at half-staff in #Wellesley & across Massachusetts to honor fallen #Watertown #firefighter Joseph Toscano @uspsofficial

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