Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
To the editor:
We would like to kindly thank Danielle, a Fiske Elementary School parent, for not only planting and maintaining the flowers around Fiske but also now repainting the faded school sign. She deserves to be acknowledged for her hard work this summer.
Sam and Vicky Liggero
Wellesley residents
To the editor:
On behalf of the Charles River Center, I’d like to thank the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club for a $3,500 grant that will help underwrite a popular program we offer to ease the stress of flying for children with autism.
The grant will offset expenses Charles River incurs for our Wings for Autism program, which is offered free of charge to participating children and their families. Held twice yearly at Logan Airport, Wings simulates the experience of navigating an airport, going through security, and boarding a plane. We offer the program in conjunction with Massport, TSA, and airline partners. Charles River has hosted more than 7,300 children and family members at Wings events since we launched Wings for Autism in 2011.
The generosity of the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club will help with the costs of a typical Wings for Autism event. This valuable program opens up the world of travel to families so they can create lifelong memories with their children. As a not-for-profit human service agency, we’re deeply grateful for the financial support of the Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club.
Sincerely,
Hilary Ryan
Vice President of Development, Charles River Center, Needham
To the editor:
We are writing to spare other Wellesley residents a frustrating and futile experience with Verizon Wireless 5G.
In response to Verizon Wireless ads claiming the best 5G coverage in the country at lower cost with free iPhone 14s thrown in, and after viewing their 5G cell tower coverage map in Wellesley which places our house in the strongest signal zone, we signed up at the Verizon Wireless store on Linden Street on April 1.
We picked up the new phones on April 8, at which time we switched to Verizon. Imagine our distress to see a signal strength of only one bar (sometimes zero). Every phone call included stretches when we could not be heard and often resulted in completely dropped calls. Over the next two weeks, we engaged in series of five or six lengthy conversations with Verizon technical support, each call lasting two to four hours. We followed their suggested maneuvers without success. On the fourth call on April 26 (two weeks after starting service), the agent placed a ticket order for a site visit from a network technician, promising they would come within two–five days. After another week of inaction, we called again, this time speaking with a tier-2 technical support person, who informed us that the scheduled site visit would occur in seven–ten business days. He offered to send a network extender unit, but only after the site visit had been accomplished. (It never was.) He checked the status of the ticket daily for a few days, then abandoned our case by May 5.
By May 8—when the 30-day window to return equipment elapsed—there was still zero–one signal strength and no evidence that a site visit had been made, or was even planned. On May 8, we called Verizon again; they shipped a network extender, which arrived the next day and did nothing to improve signal strength. We gave up. Verizon agreed that they could not hold us to a 30-day cancellation window when an entire month’s delay was theirs to own. Despite returning the equipment on May 16, we received repeated “payment overdue” invoices for over $1,100 until our account was finally credited after two months.
After going through this lengthy failed experiment with Verizon Wireless 5G, I left a message for the Linden Street manager to call me. My call was never returned. Is it credible that the Wellesley Verizon Wireless store is unaware of the lack of consistent 5G signal in town? If not, then selling us Verizon Wireless 5G service represents a deceptive and unconscionable business practice.
Erica Johnson and Hugh Johnston
Wellesley Hills residents
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 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 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.com.
Sincerely,
David Abraham
President, Wellesley S.T.A.R.S.
To the editor:
I am writing this letter to express my disappointment that the Wellesley Select Board was unable to vote on a resolution to declare June as Pride Month in Wellesley at their May 16 meeting as the resolution was withdrawn. Pride Month is celebrated around the world, and has been celebrated in the US in the month of June for more than 50 years. While it originated in response to the Stonewall riots in 1969, modern Pride Month celebrations both honor the movement for LGBTQ+ rights and celebrate LGBTQ+ culture. Several of our neighboring communities have passed similar resolutions to acknowledge and celebrate Pride Month, and
even the Wellesley Girls Scouts are having a LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebration, complete with a Pride Month patch. Wellesley recently passed Article 17 which reads, in part. “As a Town, we will respond to stop intolerance or hate based on race, skin color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity/expression, class, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, disability, or any other like characteristic.” Acknowledging June as Pride Month would seem to be in line with this sentiment.
A 2021 Gallup poll estimated that 7.1% of the US population self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual, nearly double the percentage reported in 2012. While stable in the older generations, LGBTQ+ identification is rising steeply among the younger generations. Thus, we should expect a significant percentage of the population in Wellesley to identify as LGBTQ+. At the same time, LGBTQ+ communities in the US are facing increasing threats of violence. The impact of hate on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly among socially vulnerable populations that may be victimized by partner violence, homelessness, addiction, and lack of mental health, behavioral health, and psychiatric services, is significant. According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth are more than 4 times as likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, not because of their sexual orientation but because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized by society. Simply because we are a wealthy suburban community does not mean we are immune to experiencing these problems. This resolution would have been an opportunity for Wellesley to publicly acknowledge an celebrate the diversity in our community, and to specifically demonstrate how to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ individuals who are our neighbors, colleagues, friends, and children.
I hope that those who live and work in Wellesley will find a way to celebrate Pride during the month of June, and continue to support diversity in our town all year. While we do not need a resolution to do so, I do believe that it helps to speak as one voice when we say that the LGBTQ+ members of our community are supported, and that hate and intolerance is not welcome in Wellesley.
Sincerely,
Robin Ingalls
Wellesley resident
To the editor:
Through the pages of The Swellesley Report, this letter of thanks is sent to the many people and organizations who participated in the successful completion of the 55th Annual Wellesley Veterans’ Parade and 25th Annual Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend held on Saturday, May 20th and Sunday, May 21st , including the Picnic in the Park, Concert, and Fireworks spectacular.
Particular thanks go to the Wellesley Police Department for coordinating the overall safety, parking and traffic coordination for the Parade and hosting their Open House; the Wellesley Fire Department for their safety watch at the fireworks display and their Open House; the Wellesley Department of Public Works and all the departments within including the Wellesley Parks Department, who had Hunnewell Field ready on the Weekend; the Wellesley Engineering Department for the production of the many signs used in the Parade; the Wellesley Municipal Light Department for raising our announcement banners and the American Flags, coordinating our mailings throughout town and for hosting their Open House; the Wellesley Highway Department for hosting their “Touch a Truck” Open House; the Wellesley Recreation Department, the Financial Services Department, and to The Swellesley Report for the publicity of all the activities of the entire Weekend.
Again a very special thank you goes to Roche Brothers/Sudbury Farms Supermarkets and Needham Bank for their generous donations that made the fantastic Fireworks show possible. Additionally, a great thank you for the donations from the many individuals, businesses, service clubs and others, that were so helpful toward covering the expenses of the Parade and the other activities of the entire Weekend.
And last, but certainly not least, appreciation and thanks goes to the extremely hardworking members of the Wellesley Celebrations Committee and other volunteers on Parade Day and for the many hours and months of meetings put forth in producing and running the 55th Annual Wellesley Veterans’ Parade, with 12 bands, 110 units and over 2,500 participants, and for coordinating all of the other activities that have become an integral part of the annual Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend celebration.
Finally, we thank the many, many thousands who attended and participated in the 55th Annual Wellesley Veterans’ Parade, the many Open Houses, tours and the other scheduled events—some of which had to be canceled on Saturday because of the weather—ending up with all of the activities held at Hunnewell Field on Sunday, which helped to make the 25th Annual Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend a great beginning of summer for all of Wellesley.
We hope to see you all next year for the 56th Annual Wellesley Veterans’ Parade and 26th Annual Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend, on May 18 and 19, 2024.
Sincerely,
Royall H. Switzler, Chairman
Wellesley Celebrations Committee
P. S. Donations are still needed and welcome! If anyone wishes to donate, checks should be made payable to “Friends of Wellesley Veterans, Inc.” and sent to P.O. Box 818202, Wellesley, MA 02482 or you can pay online at https://wellesleywonderfulweekend.com/
To the editor:
Hi, we are Girl Scouts from Troop 82374. We are raising money for Boston Children’s Hospital, and you can help us! We need donations of new games, fidget toys, books, art supplies, technology support, and more. Please make sure they are off of our Amazon wish list. We are doing this because there are lots of older kids in need that are away from home, hurt and sick, in a hospital, with nothing to do. This is why we want to make them feel better.
Why are we fundraising for Boston Children’s Hospital?
The Boston Children’s Hospital is the #1 pediatric hospital in the nation, and serves over 2,500 patients a year from more than 140 countries. Did you know that older kids from the Boston Children’s Hospital don’t get as many activities as the younger kids? But YOU can make a difference. Please consider donating to our fundraising page or buying new items off of our Amazon wish list to support the older kids and teens that have to stay at the Boston’s Children’s Hospital. More information and links are below. 100% of all money and items raised will go to the BCH. Thank you!
The Girl Scouts of Troop 82374
Wellesley