To the editor:

The warm weather is here, and many residents and their four-legged friends are hitting the trails all around town. Wellesley is a pet-friendly community and as the town’s Animal Control Officer, I wanted to share a few tips to help ensure the outdoor space is enjoyable for all.

Pet owners are expected to be responsible and considerate to ensure that their pets do not disturb other residents, and to preserve the beauty of our town. The Town does require that dogs are either leashed or under the control of its owner while outdoors at all times. The Town bylaws require that “any dog on the streets and sidewalks in Wellesley must be on a leash not exceeding seven (7) feet.  On all other Town property, a dog must be under the control of its owner according to regulations adopted by Town boards and commissions for that specific Town property.”

When enjoying the Town’s Parks and Conservation Land the bylaws specific to this space require that “pets must be under the immediate control of the owner at all times in order to protect plants, wildlife and the enjoyment of other visitors.”

What does immediate control or immediate voice control mean? The dog must respond to one command of COME (or whatever your recall word is) and remain beside the owner or keeper. Come means come now. It is not an optional command. This command could save your dog’s life by preventing it from chasing a bunny, squirrel, or other animal across a street. It also keeps your dog from approaching other walkers who may be fearful of dogs, are allergic, or are walking a dog who does not want to say hello or interact with other dogs.

To ensure owners maintain immediate control, dogs should always stay within their owner’s eyesight. This helps to ensure they do not run up to, jump on, chase or assault other dogs, their owners or other individuals who are enjoying the outside space. Many dog owners enjoy socializing their dogs with other dogs while utilizing Town property. It is always best to ask before letting your dog approach another dog or a person. Please also ensure your dog does not run into the yards of abutters while walking on town property, and remember to be a courteous owner and pick up after your dog.

Let’s all work together to ensure that everyone can enjoy our town’s beautiful outdoor space together.

If you witness or encounter an aggressive dog please contact Wellesley Animal Control at the Wellesley Police Department to report it. The more information about the dog (name, breed, size, color, etc.) the more likely we will be able to identify the dog and its owner and educate them about the Town bylaws and any undesired behaviors.

Jenny Smith
Animal Control Officer
Animal Inspector
Wellesley Police Dept.
485 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482
781-235-8460

To the editor:

On behalf of the Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. (Striving to Achieve Recreational Services), I would like to publicly thank the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club (WHJWC) for its ongoing support of our teams. Created by parents and run by an amazing and talented group of volunteers, the Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. is an organization that provides an opportunity for friendship, competition, and achievement for athletes with a variety of disabilities. The financial support of the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club enables us to offer our athletes a competitive program in which they would normally not be able to participate.

The Wellesley S.T.A.R.S currently offers opportunities in both swimming and track. Led by our Special Olympics Hall of Fame coach, Karen Bernardo, our swim team competes in Special Olympics regional meets in Massachusetts as well as in selective national and international events. Our Special Olympics track team practices at Dana Hall throughout the winter and spring. In addition to Karen, we have many other dedicated coaches and volunteers who work with our athletes every week, providing a warm and welcoming environment for all.

The Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. is fortunate to have the support of the community, and we are very grateful to the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club for its support over the years. We encourage others to continue to support the fundraising events of the Wellesley Hills Junior Woman’s Club. The success of their efforts is crucial to the long term success of the Wellesley S.T.A.R.S. and other
local organizations.

For more information on joining or volunteering for the Wellesley S.T.A.R.S., please visit our website at www.wellesleystars.org or email at wellesleystars@gmail.org

Sincerely,

David Abraham
President, Wellesley S.T.A.R.S.

To the editor:

Freshman Fresh Start is a Wellesley-based non-profit that provides essential dorm room and school supplies to low-income, high-achieving college-bound freshmen, helping to lessen financial burdens and ease the transition to campus life.

We are so pleased to have been approved for a grant from the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club. This grant will allow us to provide four Wellesley METCO college-bound seniors with the goods they need for campus living, allowing them to begin their post-secondary education on a more even playing field with a much-needed sense of confidence during a vulnerable time. We believe that a Freshman Fresh Start award is one of several factors that help students attain the ultimate goal: college graduation.

Thank you to the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club for being a part of our work.

Ruth Weinstein and Susan Tofias
Co-founders

Margaux Paine
Program Manager

To the editor:

I’d like to add to praise I’ve read about the late Cathy Brauner, who for 29 years was the backbone of the Wellesley Townsman, along with so many other contributions she made.

From 2005 to 2015, I got to know her over some opinion pieces some colleagues and I wanted to submit. She listened and advised me with kindness, patience, and wisdom. I can still hear her even-tempered voice, serious, firm, yet always quick to find humor. As busy as she was, she always found time to pick up the phone (and I called her a lot). She welcomed multiple viewpoints, and rarely inserted her own political viewpoints, except in her editorials. She exhibited the best of journalism ethics.

When the controversial Town Manager proposal (to revamp our town government) came up for a referendum in early 2015, I had warned her she was going to get an outpouring of letters from the public. At first, she said there wouldn’t be room, but ever responsive to her public, she asked her publisher for extra pages and managed to get five extra pages devoted to letters!

I so miss the Cathy Brauner Townsman. In spite of how scarce her resources, she found a way to make it a great local paper. In my case, she patiently tolerated my several drafts, each one I’d swear was going to be the final draft.

Every week, she wrote a wonderful historical piece, “Fifty Years Ago This Week,” that made Wellesley’s history ever so vivid for us. Whether or not I agreed with her views, her editorials were, like her, measured and fair.

When speaking to me in her editor role, she was reserved, but when I once asked her about her daughters, she exploded with enthusiasm, talking a blue streak, her love for them barely containable. All evidence was that she was a great mother.

I also saw her inner investigative reporter when she spoke to me about the mysterious death of a relative, I think it was an uncle, killed many years earlier in a military helicopter crash she found suspicious and possibly politically motivated. She’d been haunted by the questions his death left behind and I had thought she’d write about it someday. Now I wonder if she left notes behind. I also wondered if that incident helped spark her interest in journalism.

I will always be grateful for the brief time I knew Cathy and hope she knew how many hearts she touched.

Jeanne Mayell
Wellesley resident