The Swellesley Report

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

Wellesley fire chief earns regional leadership award

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Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie has received the Theodore Mann Regional Leadership Award from the MAPC, a planning agency serving 101 cities and towns in Greater Boston.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council gives the award in memory of Newton’s longest-serving mayor, Theodore “Teddy” Mann, and recognizes a municipal leader whose commitment to regional collaboration best exemplifies Mann’s legacy.

ChiefDeLorie_MannAward
Wellesley Fire Chief Rick DeLorie receives the Theodore Mann Regional Leadership Award on May 29 at Boston University during the annual Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) meeting. The award was presented by Rick Mann, Theodore Mann’s son.

 

DeLorie serves as Chair of MetroFire, an association of 34 Boston-area fire departments that coordinates mutual aid response. Efforts include enabling integrated radio communications to training for fire and medical response to dealing with major emergencies.

MAPC has a longstanding partnership with the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts (FCAM), helping members purchase fire trucks and equipment. DeLorie was among the FCAM leaders that helped establish the purchasing program.

DeLorie is the first fire official to win the Mann Award.

MORE: Wellesley Fire Department earns state grants

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Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend: Day 1

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Scenes from Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, starting with the Wellesley Trails Committee’s guided walk in Lower Falls, to assorted public department open houses and Art in the Park.

 

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This kid #rocks at #Wellesley Wonderful Weekend #carshow #music #swellesley #wellesleyma #band

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Wellesley Trails Committee guided walk in Lower Falls:

cordingly dam wellesley
Cordingly Dam
Waterway
The Waterway

waterway trail

george washington rock
George Washington marker in lower falls

 

Dog contest:

wellesley dog contestwellesley dog contestwellesley dog contestwellesley dog contest

Open houses:

open house fire station rte 9open house fire station rte 9open house fire station rte 9wellesley police open house hot dogswellesley police open house

Art in the Park:

art im the partk
Photo courtesy of Kathleen Woodward

art in the parkart in the parkart in the parkgarden club

Wheels of Wellesley:

wheels wellesleywheels of wellesleywheels of wellesley

Wellesley Historical Society Tollhouse Shop:

Wellesley Historical dadmuntollhouse shop wellesley historical

UU Carnival:

superman uu carnivalhorse at uu wellesley carnival

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Fire at Wellesley’s Hunnewell School not deemed suspicious; school closed until Monday, Fun Fair postponed

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Wellesley fire, Hunnewell
Photo credit: Wellesley Police Department

A Wednesday morning fire at Hunnewell Elementary School at 28 Cameron St., in Wellesley closed the school for the day and will keep it closed until Monday, May 20.

The Hunnewell Fun Fair, slated for this Friday, is being postponed until Friday, May 31.

According to Wellesley Public Schools Superintendent David Lussier, the fire affected 2 classrooms and is not believed by the Fire Department to be suspicious. The Fire Department believes the fire was electrical in nature.

Lussier wrote: “Before we can safely re-open the building, several important things need to happen. We are conducting tests of surfaces and air quality throughout the entire school to ensure that no potentially hazardous materials became airborne outside of the affected classrooms. We are also assessing all electrical, fire detection, and other building systems to ensure that nothing was compromised and that all of our systems are fully operational.  

As each of these comprehensive steps will take time and after consulting with the many on-site experts at the scene, Hunnewell will remain closed until Monday, May 20th. If for any reason that date moves as a result of the testing and clean-up, we will communicate further details to the Hunnewell community.”

The community is asked to steer clear of the area, including the playground, while the investigation and cleanup continue.

 

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Free Summer Youth programs in Wellesley — registration is open

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The Wellesley Youth Commission is excited to announce the 2019 lineup of summer programs. Get an insider view of the Town of Wellesley by experiencing one of the town’s amazing programs.

All summer programs offered through the Wellesley Youth Commission are free and for Wellesley youth (residents) or students attending Wellesley public schools and must be entering grades 6, 7, and 8 Fall of 2019. The programs are held at various locations throughout Wellesley with lunch provided daily.

Applicants may apply online now, and may choose to apply to any of the summer exploration programs, but applicants can attend only one program per summer. Please identify 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices appropriately. Participants will be chosen by lottery and email confirmations will be sent early March.

Wellesley Eco Summer Program

Eco Summer Program is a week-long exploration for 12 youth with the Wellesley Conservation Council the week of July 15 – July 19, 2019, from 9:30am – 3pmHighlights for this program include:

  • Hands-on fishing demonstrations by the Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game
  • Wilderness survival and fire-building
  • Experimentation with drones
  • Kayaking, swimming and shoreline restoration
  • Learn about how to protect and preserve the natural environment in Wellesley

Fire Rescuers

Fire Rescuers is a week-long exploration for 20 youth with the Wellesley Fire Department the week of July 22 – July 26, 2019, from 9:30am until 3pm

Highlights for this program include:

  • Experience a working Fire Department with hands-on training including fire extinguishing, knot tying, water rescue, and much more.
  • Field trip to the Boston Academy on Moon Island Boston, Massachusetts.
  • Visits and demonstrations from the MBTA Bomb Squad.

Wellesley Police Department Youth Academy

WPD Youth Academy is a week-long exploration for 25 youth with the Wellesley Police Department the week of July 29 – August 2, 2019, from 9am – 3pm

Highlights for this program include:

  • Learning the importance of law enforcement in their community and beyond.
  • Experiencing hands-on demonstrations involving radar, motor vehicle stops, mock arrests and crime scene search.
  • Discover the valuable collaboration between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
  • Field trips to Boston area law enforcement agencies, FBI, and State Police.

Wellesley Media Summer Program

Wellesley Media Summer Program is a week-long exploration for 10 youth ENTERING 8th GRADE with Wellesley Media Corporation the week of August 19 – August 23, 2019, from 10am – 2pm

Highlights for this program include:

  • Learning the art of program planning.
  • Learning to operate Wellesley Media studio equipment including cameras, audio, and editing devices.
  • Gaining the skills to produce a public service announcement or news piece for Wellesley Media.

Applications are available here.

For additional information contact Maura Renzella, Youth Director at [email protected]

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Wellesley author’s book has kids cooking with solar power

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Wellesley author Elizabeth Suneby’s latest in a series of socially-conscious children’s book has just been recognized with an award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science as the top children’s science picture book.

Iqbal bookIqbal and His Ingenious Idea: How a Science Project Helps One Family and the Planet, written by Elizabeth Suneby and illustrated by Rebecca Green, tells the story of a Bangladeshi boy who sets out to build a smoke-free solar cooker in light of the damage that cooking over indoor fire during the monsoon season is having on his family’s health. The device might also earn him a sustainability award from his school, and instructions are provided in the book on how to concoct such a solar cooker with a pizza box and aluminum foil.

Suneby learned about the issue of 3 billion people cooking over open fires or stoves using wood, coal or other solid fuels while working on the first book she wrote for the Citizen Kid series, Razia’s Ray of Hope: One Girl’s Dream of an Education. To further learn about the issue, she worked with the UN Global Clean Cooking Alliance in the United States and Bangladesh, Solar Cookers International as well as with local Bangladeshi students.

“Each of the Citizen Kid books… addresses one issue to help kids become world citizens,” Suneby writes. “Cooking is a daily activity every kid can relate to — and they should understand and care that for a huge portion of the world’s population, it is a task with many issues,” such as harming the environment, causing health issues, and dis-empowering women.

The book, geared toward kids in grades 3-7, is available locally (autographed editions at Wellesley Books) and online.

kids cooking with solar
Kids cooking with solar

 

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